THEODORE    PAR 


-oro  Do*,  by  Allen    fc  Horto- 


PRAYERS 


BY 


THEODORE     PARKER 


a  STefo  lEtutton 

WITH  A  PREFACE  BY  LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT,  AND 
A  MEMOIR  BY  F.  B.  SANBORN 


BOSTON 
ROBERTS     BROTHERS 

1892 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1?61,  bjr 

HUFUS  LEIOHTOS, 
in  tb?  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Mas.sachusettt 


to 

THE    WIFE    OF    THEODORE    PARKER 

Rfcfs  Volume  of  Jh-aiuvs 

18  AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATED 

BT    THE    EDITORS 


UNIFORM  WITH  THIS  VOLUME. 

WEST  ROXBURY  SERMONS 

1837— IS'l-S 

BY  THEODORE   PARKER. 


Printed  from  Unpublished  Manuscripts.  With 
Introduction  and  Biographical  Sketch,  \btno. 
Cloth.  Price,  $1.00. 


THIS  volume  will  indicate  how  early  and  by 
what  rich  eloquence,  yet  simple,  searching,  and 
full  of  high  aspiration,  Parker  won  the  title  of 
"  The  Great  American  Preacher."  The  Sermons 
cover  the  period  from  the  beginning  of  his  min- 
istry at  West  Roxbury  to  the  year  following  his 
settlement  over  the  Music  Hall  Congregation  in 
Boston. 


PKEFACE. 


fT|HE  first  time  I  heard  Theodore  Parker  preach 
J_  was  a  memorable  day  to  me,  as  such  occasions 
doubtless  were  to  many  others  who  ' '  came  to  won- 
der," and  "remained  to  pray."  The  sermon  waa 
addressed  to  "laborious  young  women,"  and  was 
full  of  paternal  advice,  encouragement,  and  sympa- 
thy ;  but  the  prayer  that  followed  went  straight  to 
the  hearts  of  those  for  whom  he  prayed,  —  not  only 
comforting  by  its  tenderness,  and  strengthening  by 
its  brave  and  cheerful  spirit,  but  showing  them 
where  to  go  for  greater  help,  and  how  to  ask  it  as 
simply  and  confidingly  as  he  did. 

It  was  unlike  any  prayer  I  had  ever  heard ;  not 
cold  and  formal  as  if  uttered  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
not  a  display  of  eloquence,  nor  an  impious  directing 
of  Deity  in  his  duties  toward  humanity.  It  was  a 
quiet  talk  with  God,  as  if  long  intercourse  and  much 
love  had  made  it  natural  and  easy  for  the  son  to 
seek  the  Father,  —  confessing  faults,  asking  help, 


iv 


and  submitting  all  things  to  the  All  wise  and  ten- 
der, as  freely  as  children  bring  their  little  sorrows, 
hopes,  and  fears,  to  their  mother's  knee. 

The  slow,  soft  folding  of  the  hands,  the  reverent 
bowing  of  the  good  gray  head,  the  tears  that  some- 
times veiled  the  voice,  the  simplicity,  frankness, 
and  devout  earnestness,  made  both  words  and 
manner  wonderfully  eloquent ;  and  the  phrase, 
"  Our  Father  and  our  Mother  God,"  was  inexpress- 
ibly sweet  and  beautiful,  —  seeming  to  invoke  both 
power  and  love  to  sustain  and  comfort  the  anxious, 
overburdened  hearts  of  those  who  listened  and  went 
away  to  labor  and  to  wait  with  fresh  hope  and  faith. 

To  one  laborious  young  woman,  just  setting  forth 
to  seek  her  fortune,  that  Sunday  was  the  beginning 
of  a  new  life,  that  sermon  like  the  scroll  given 
to  Christian,  that  prayer  the  God-speed  of  one  who 
was  to  her,  as  to  so  many,  a  valiant  Great-heart 
leading  pilgrims  through  Vanity  Fair  to  the  Celestial 
City. 

Parker's  prayers  were  one  of  the  strongest  attrac- 
tions of  his  church,  and  did  much  to  win  and  soften 
souls,  after  his  unsparing  hand  had  torn  away  the 
veil  behind  which  so  many  hide  even  from  them- 
selves. Like  spring  rains  on  newly  ploughed  fields, 
came  mercy  after  justice  ;  and  many  can  remember 
how  his  Judgment-Day  sermons  were  followed  by 
prayers  full  of  exquisite  tenderness  for  the  great 
men  or  the  erring  nations  whose  iniquities  had  just 


been  laid  bare  with  terrible  truth  and  power ;  sending 
the  listener  away  hating  the  sin,  but  full  of  com- 
passion for  the  sinner. 

Some  of  his  prayers  in  spring  and  autumn  were 
like  poems,  rich  in  lovely,  quaint,  and  striking  fig- 
ures. He  thanked  God  for  the  rain  that  "  fed  the 
mighty  forest,  and  gave  life  to  every  little  moss 
struggling  through  the  city  stones ;  "  for  "  the  bread 
of  oxen  and  of  men,"  the  "beauty  of  the  lily  and 
the  love  of  little  children."  His  words  at  marriages 
and  funerals  were  always  fit  and  fervent,  especially 
on  the  latter  occasions,  when  he  lifted  sad  souls 
above  their  grief,  in  the  strong  arms  of  his  cheerful 
faith,  till  they  forgot  the  mortal  loss  in  the  immortal 
hope.  He  made  religion  seem  a  power  one  could 
grasp  and  feel,  take  into  one's  life,  and  make  one's 
daily  bread ;  not  a  vague,  vast  idea,  now  beautiful, 
now  terrible,  always  undefined  and  far  away,  a  blind 
superstition  or  a  stern  master. 

Perhaps  the  secret  of  the  worth  and  beauty  of 
these  prayers  lies  in  the  fact  that  his  life  illustrated 
them  so  truly  that  those  who  knew  him  felt  he  had  a 
right  to  pray.  Some  of  the  most  precious  and  help- 
ful hours  of  many  lives  were  those  Sundays  spent 
in  listening  to  his  sermons  in  the  morning,  and  in 
the  evening  seeing  him  put  them  in  practice  in  his 
own  home. 

Drawn  thither  by  the  magnetism  of  his  cour- 
ageous, upright,  and  loving  soul,  came  men  and 


vi 


women  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Black  and 
white,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  good  and  bad, 
all  were  welcome  ;  all  found  some  cordial  word,  high 
thought,  or  generous  act,  to  comfort,  inspire,  and 
sustain.  He  was  a  friend  who  could  meet,  and  give 
to  each  what  was  most  needed,  and  spent  himself 
too  freely  in  such  benefactions,  —  to  fellow- workers, 
the  grasp  of  a  faithful  hand  when  others  fell  away  ; 
to  young  men,  the  everlasting  truth  for  their  anchor ; 
to  aspiring  women,  a  frank  yet  kindly  word  to  keep 
them  from  being  led  astray  by  their  own  gifts  ;  to 
the  fugitive  slave,  a  musket  and  a  Bible,  with  which 
to  win  liberty,  and  learn  how  to  use  it ;  to  every 
little  child  a  blessing ;  and  to  the  most  abandoned 
outcast,  a  tender  "  Go  and  sin  no  more." 

This  was  prayer  made  visible  ;  and  to  his  people 
the  memory  of  this  life  will  always  be  an  inspiration 
which  neither  time,  nor  death,  nor  the  world's  neg- 
lect can  rob  of  its  power  and  sweetness. 

Standing  by  his  grave  in  Florence,  it  seemed  at 
first  a  lonely  and  forlorn  spot  for  such  honored  dust 
to  lie  in ;  but  as  we  looked  we  found  that  many 
pilgrims  had  worn  a  path  to  this  shrine,  that  other 
hands  had  brought  fresh  offerings,  and,  in  the  myrtle 
that  spread  its  green  coverlet  over  the  low  bed,  a 
little  bird  had  built  its  nest,  as  if  sure  of  a  refuge 
there,  although  the  hospitable  heart  lay  still  below - 
Finding  comfort  in  these  signs  and  symbols,  we 
dropped  our  flowers,  poor  gifts  for  the  greatest  help 


Vll 


one  human  soul  can  give  another,  and  went  away, 
feeling  that  in  neither  Florence  nor  Rome  should  we 
find  any  thing  more  beautiful  or  grand  than  the  life 
of  one  who  loved  his  neighbor  better  than  himself, 
and  prayed  for  all  men  as  his  brothers. 

LOUISA  M.    ALCOTT. 
OONCOBD,  Oct.  17, 1881. 


MEMOIR 

BY  F.  B.  SANBORN. 


I  AM  told  that  the  name  and  reputation  of  THEO- 
DORE PARKER,  once  so  familiar  and  so  much 
debated  in  this  city  of  his  prayers,  have  somewhat 
faded  since  his  death,  now  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  In  this  he  shares  the  common  fortune  of 
famous  men ;  but  it  has  also  been  said  that  he 
lacked  a  biographer,  who  should  have  preserved  for 
all  mankind  the  record  of  his  life  and  character, 
which  his  friends  knew  so  well,  and  of  which  Miss 
ALCOTT  in  her  preface  so  tenderly  speaks.  Parker 
died  in  May,  1860,  a  year  before  the  civil  war  burst 
forth,  for  which  he  had  long  been  preparing  the 
minds  of  his  countrymen ;  and  could  his  life  then 
have  been  written,  briefly,  and  with  attention  only 
to  the  strong  features  of  his  character,  his  image 
might  have  been  fixed  at  once  in  the  excited  mind 
of  the  nation,  and  would  have  remained  there,  per- 
haps, even  through  the  confusing  experiences  of 
fat 


that  period  of  war  arid  reconstruction.  It  was 
otherwise  ordered :  the  golden  moment  was  lost, 
and  the  admirable  biographies  that  have  since  been 
written  have  fallen  rather  coldly  on  the  public  at- 
tention. It  is  my  hope  to  present  next  year,  in  the 
form  of  an  autobiography,  the  main  aspects  of 
Parker's  remarkable  career ;  but  the  dates  and 
some  of  its  characteristics  may  justly  be  given  here. 
THEODORE  PARKER  was  born  at  Lexington,  Mass., 
Aug.  24,  1810,  and  died  at  Florence,  where  he  is 
buried,  May  10,  1860.  His  grandfather  command- 
ed the  Lexington  minute-men  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1775  ;  his  great-uncle  was  killed  on  the  Green,  that 
day,  by  a  British  musket-shot  and  bayonet-stab. 
All  his  ancestors  in  this  country  were  farmers,  and 
he  was  brought  up  a  farmer's  boy.  He  fitted 
himself  for  college,  with  the  aid  of  two  or  three 
instructors  who  taught  school  in  his  town,  and 
entered  Harvard  College  in  August,  1830,  but  never 
joined  his  class,  being  too  poor  to  do  so.  In  1831 
he  taught  school  in  Boston,  as  he  had  previously 
done  in  Waltham  and  Concord  ;  in  1832-34  he  had 
a  private  school  at  Watertown,  where  he  met  and 
became  engaged,  in  1833,  to  his  future  wife,  Miss 
Lydia  Cabot.  In  1834  he  entered,  and  in  1836 
graduated  from,  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School ;  in 
April,  1837,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Cabot ;  in 
June,  1837,  he  was  settled  at  West  Roxbury,  the 
drst  of  his  two  parishes,  which  he  left  to  preach 


XI 


in  Boston  early  in  1846.  In  1837-38  he  began  to 
preach  new  doctrines ;  in  1841  he  preached  the 
South  Boston  sermon  which  drew  down  upon  him 
the  censure  of  his  Unitarian  brethren.  In  1843 
he  went  to  Europe  for  a  year,  traversing  England 
and  the  Continent,  and  making  many  acquaintances 
among  the  men  of  learning  and  of  progress  there. 
In  Berlin  he  called  on  Bettine  Von  Arnim,  the 
friend  of  Goethe,  and  held  with  her  a  memorable 
conversation,  which  I  find  reported  in  his  diary  of 
May  23,  1844.  After  much  previous  question  and 
answer,  Bettine  having  complained  of  the  want  of 
courage  in  Germany,  Parker  writes  :  — 

"I  told  her,  that,  if  the  men  lack  courage,  she  had 
enough;  that  she  had  the  courage  of  a  Jewish  prophet, 
and  the  inspiration  of  a  Christian  apostle.  She  said  she 
was  not  Christian,  but  heathen,  —  she  prayed  to  Jupiter. 
I  told  her  that  was  nothing:  there  was  but  one  God, 
whose  name  was  neither  Jupiter  nor  Jehovah,  and  he  took 
each  true  prayer.  Then  she  said  again  she  was  no  Chris- 
tian. I  asked,  '  Have  you  no  respect  for  Christ  ? '  — 
'  None  for  the  person,  for  he  had  done  more  harm  to  the 
world  than  any  other  man.'  I  found,  however,  that  for 
the  man  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  for  all  the  great  doctrines 
of  religion,  she  had  the  greatest  respect.  I  told  her  there 
was,  to  my  thinking,  but  one  religion,  —  that  was  being 
good  and  doing  good.  She  said  yes,  but  doing  good  was 
not  vulgar  charity,  but  lifting  up  the  fallen,  and  helping 
forward  the  development  of  humanity." 

In  the  sendee  of  this  "one  religion"  Parktr 
wrote  and  preached  almost  from  the  first,  following 


Xll 


Emerfc-on  as  his  guide  in  literature  and  philosophy 
for  some  years,  however.  From  1840  to  1844  he 
was  a  contributor  to  Emerson's  "Dial;"  in  1847 
he  began,  in  company  with  Emerson,  the  "Massa- 
chusetts Quarterly  Review,"  which  he  edited  for 
three  years ;  in  1848  he  gave  his  powerful  aid  to 
the  young  "Free-soil"  party  of  Massachusetts;  in 
1851  he  stood  by  Charles  Sumner,  and  congratulated 
him  on  his  election  as  senator,  which  came  almost 
immediately  after  the  carrying-away  of  Simms,  the 
fugitive  slave,  from  Boston,  in  spite  of  all  the  op- 
position of  Parker  and  his  friends.  In  1850  he  had 
sheltered  William  and  Ellen  Craft  in  his  house,  and 
united  them  in  marriage,  being  fugitive  slaves  from 
Georgia,  and  his  parishioners  in  Boston.  Along 
with  his  intimate  friends,  Garrison  and  "Wendell 
Phillips,  from  1850  to  1855  he  stood  in  the  front 
against  American  slavery,  and  by  the  Boston  apolo- 
gists for  slavery  he  was  indicted  for  treason  in  1854. 
The  indictment  was  quashed  in  April,  1855,  but  not 
until  Parker  had  written  his  vigorous  "  Defence  ;  " 
of  which,  and  of  his  other  papers  against  slavery, 
Emerson  said  at  his  funeral,  — 

"  He  has  so  woven  himself  in  these  few  years  into  the 
history  of  Boston,  that  he  can  never  be  left  out  of  your 
annals.  It  will  not  be  in  the  acts  of  city  councils,  nor  of 
obsequious  mayors,  nor  in  the  State  House,  the  proclama- 
tions of  governors,  with  their  failing  virtue,  — failing  them 
at  critical  moments,  —  that  the  coming  generations  will 


xm 


study  what  really  befell ;  but  in  the  plain  lessons  of  Theo- 
dore Parker  in  this  Music  Hall,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  or  in  legis- 
lative committee  rooms,  the  true  temper  and  authentic 
record  of  these  days  will  be  read.  The  next  generation 
will  care  little  for  fine  gentlemen  who  behaved  shabbily; 
but  it  will  read  very  intelligently  in  his  rough  story,  forti- 
fied with  exact  anecdotes,  precise  with  names  and  dates, 
what  part  was  taken  by  each  actor;  who  threw  himself 
into  the  cause  of  humanity;  who  came  to  the  rescue  of 
civilization  at  a  hard  pinch,  and  who  blocked  its  course. 
In  terrible  earnest  he  denounced  the  public  crime,  and 
meted  out  to  every  official,  high  and  low,  his  due  portion. 
He  took  away  the  reproach  of  silent  consent  that  would 
otherwise  have  lain  against  the  indignant  minority,  by 
uttering  in  the  hour  and  place  wherein  these  outrages  were 
done  the  stern  protest.  There  were,  of  course,  multitudes 
to  censure  and  defame  this  truth-speaker.  But  the  brave 
know  the  brave.  Fops,  whether  in  drawing-rooms  or 
churches,  will  utter  the  fop's  opinion,  and  faintly  hope 
for  the  salvation  of  his  soul ;  but  his  manly  enemies,  who 
despised  the  fops,  honored  him;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
his  great,  hospitable  heart  was  the  sanctuary  to  which 
every  soul  conscious  of  an  earnest  opinion  came  for  sym- 
pathy, —  alike  the  brave  slaveholder  and  the  brave  slave- 
rescuer.  These  met  in  the  house  of  this  honest  man ;  for 
every  sound  heart  loves  a  responsible  person,  —  one  who 
does  not  in  generous  company  say  generous  things  and  in 
mean  company  base  things,  but  says  one  thing,  —  now 
cheerfully,  now  indignantly,  but  always  because  he  must." 

At  one  of  these  meetings  with  his  political  oppo- 
nents I  happened  to  be  present,  when  in  1856  he 
-eceived  South  Carolina  slaveholders  into  his  house 
a  Exeter  Place,   and   argued   with   them   against 


XIV 


slavery,  Mr.  Garrison  and  others  taking  part  in  the 
colloquy.  In  1857  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
John  Brown,  and  in  1858  joined  with  Gerrit  Smith, 
Dr.  Howe,  Col.  Higginson,  and  others,  in  raising 
money  for  Brown's  attack  upon  slavery  in  Virginia, 
as  he  had  joined  in  1855-57  in  raising  money  for 
the  defence  of  freedom  in  Kansas.  His  health, 
long  failing,  finally  gave  way  in  January,  1859  ;  and 
he  left  his  pulpit  forever,  sailed  for  Santa  Cruz  in 
February,  reached  Europe  in  the  following  summer, 
and  spent  the  winter  of  1859-60  at  Rome.  He  es- 
caped from  that  city  about  the  middle  of  April,  1860, 
wishing  to  die  in  a  freer  place,  and  reached  Flor- 
ence April  21,  where  he  did  die  less  than  three 
weeks  after.  His  remains  could  not  be  brought  to 
America ;  and  so  he  lies  buried  there,  in  the  same 
cemetery  with  Mrs.  Browning,  and  with  another 
English  friend  of  his,  Thomas  Cholmondeley. 

These  are  dates  of  a  remarkable  life,  crowded 
with  study,  with  labor,  with  philanthropy,  with  po- 
litical and  theological  and  social  agitation.  He  was 
the  Luther,  or  perhaps  we  might  better  say  the  John 
Knox,  of  his  period  ;  for  he  had  Knox's  combative- 
ness,  as  well  as  Luther's  broad  learning  and  warm 
good  sense.  His  opinions  were  not  peculiar  to  him- 
self ;  but  his  spirit  was  peculiar  and  noble,  and  made 
him  worthy  of  comparison  with  any  reformer  of  re- 
ligion or  practical  moralist  in  any  age  of  the  world. 
The  special  doctrines  that  he  taught  may  not  be  ac- 


XV 


cepted,  but  the  central  truth  and  the  fire  of  devotion 
in  his  system  of  belief  will  always  make  his  memory 
dear  to  sincere  believers.  In  his  first  visit  to  Rome, 
sixteen  years  before  his  death,  he  resorted  with 
affection  and  with  zeal  to  the  Catacombs,  the  meet- 
ing-place and  burial-place  of  the  early  Christians ; 
and  I  find  in  his  diary  of  March  4,  1844,  the  pious 
record  of  this  pilgrimage,  from  which  a  few  sen- 
tences may  be  transcribed. 

11  Monday,  P.M. — We  went  with  Mr.  Ives  and  Father 
March  to  the  Catacombs  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Agnese,  a 
little  out  of  the  city.  .  .  . 

"  In  some  of  the  chapels  the  ceiling  was  covered  entirely 
with  paintings  and  mosaics.  Here  was  the  Good  Shepherd ; 
here  Christ  preaching,  though  but  a  child ;  here  the  Hebrew 
youths  in  the  flames;  here  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den;  here 
the  whole  story  of  Jonah,  emblematic  of  the  death  and 
!  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  here  the  marriage  at  Cana, 
the  symbol  of  transubstantiation,  with  many  more,  some 
of  them  works  of  some  little  merit.  I  thought  I  saw  in. 
some  of  these  rude  paintings  of  Christ  a  resemblance  to  the 
face  painted  even  now.  (How  much  traditionary  evidence 
is  there  for  the  present  face  of  Christ?)  I  passed  along 
whole  miles  of  passages,  I  should  think,  all  lined  with 
Christian  graves  '  in  the  sides  of  the  pit.'  The  bones  still 
lie  there ;  perhaps  they  have  lain  there  for  sixteen  or  seven- 
teen hundred  years.  The  bones  of  the  martyrs  have  been 
gathered  up  and  removed;  but  the  Christians  who  went 
down  to  the  sides  of  the  pit  in  peace  are  still  here,  but  they 
all  have  nearly  moldered  to  dust.  Here  and  there  were 
entire  bones,  skulls,  thigh-bones,  et  cetera.  I  gathered  up 
some  fragments,  and  have  them  still. 


XVI 


"  I  know  no  place  that  fills  me  with  deeper  emotion  in 
Rome  than  these  Catacombs.  Here  the  persecuted  when 
alive  found  refuge ;  when  dead  found  refuge,  too,  for  their 
ashes  and  bones  long  tortured.  Here  the  relations  of  e 
martyr  laid  down  his  lacerated  body,  and  in  the  ampullu 
deposited  the  blood  they  had  piously  collected  with  sponges. 
Well,  the  Master  died  the  martyr's  death,  the  servants  need 
not  fear  to  do  the  same !  I  shall  never  forget  the  impres- 
sion left  on  my  mind  by  this  visit.  I  should  like  to  come 
and  sit  here  all  night,  and  read  the  Fathers,  —  Origen's  ex- 
hortation to  his  young  converts,  urging  them  to  be  martyrs, 
or  something  of  Cyprian,  or  Tertullian,  or  the  lives  of  the 
martyrs  themselves.  No  wonder  the  Catholic  Church  has 
such  a  hold  on  the  hearts  of  the  world,  while  she  keeps  in 
her  bosom  the  relics  of  the  sainted  dead !  Yet  as  I  walked 
about  here  I  could  not  but  think  how  easy  it  must  have 
seemed,  and  must  have  been  too,  to  bear  the  cross  of  the 
martyrdom.  The  recollection  of  Christ,  of  the  Apostles, 
the  certainty  of  the  prayers  and  best  wishes  of  men  on 
earth,  the  expectation  of  heavenly  satisfaction,  all  would 
conspire  to  stimulate  the  spirit,  and  make  men  court  and 
not  shun  the  martyr's  death." 

"  Thursday,  March  7.  —  We  went  to  the  church  where 
the  first  Roman  council  was  held.  We  went  down  into  the 
subterranean  church  (a  remnant  of  Titus' s  Baths)  in  which 
the  council  was  held  that  condemned  Arius  and  Sabellius. 
Here  Constantine  the  Great  came,  and  sat  in  the  council : 
here  the  decrees  of  Nice  were  confirmed.  Here  were  th< 
three  hundred  and  eighty-four  bishops  all  gathered  together. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  recall  the  men,  and  sit  for  ar 
hour  to  hear  the  disputes  that  ran  high  among  the  partisan: 
of  Arius  and  Athanasius.  The  fragments  of  the  presi 
dent's  seat  are  still  there;  of  course  they  are  of  marble.  Ii; 
the  church  above,  the  proper  persons  were  singing  office, 
and  I  can  never  hear  it  without  pleasure.  The  sweet  im- 


XVII 


pulse  of  devotion  comes  over  the  heart.  Nothing  touches 
me  so  much  as  this  heard  in  a  Gothic  church,  save  only  the 
sweet  influence  of  nature  breathing  gently  on  the  earth. 
All  the  offices  and  Gothic  churches  in  the  world  cannot 
approach  that." 

It  is  in  the  very  spirit  of  devotion,  the  gentle  or 
the  martial,  that  these  prayers  (which  Mr.  Leigh- 
ton  and  Miss  Goddard  long  since  noted  down  as 
they  listened)  were  conceived  and  uttered.  Like 
so  many  of  his  predecessors  in  the  New  England 
pulpit,  Theodore  Parker  was  "mighty  in  prayer." 
It  was  the  natural  language  of  his  soul ;  not,  as 
Emerson  said  of  unworthy  prayer,  "  a  disease  of 
the  will."  I  find  in  his  private  journal  in  1846-47, 
some  years  before  any  of  the  public  prayers  here 
printed  were  uttered,  certain  short  prayers,  in  prose 
some,  and  some  in  verse,  which  may  fitly  close  this 
brief  record  of  a  godly  and  manly  life. 

Aug.  24,  1846,  upon  his  birthday,  and  the  even- 
ing before  it,  he  thus  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

"I  am  now  thirty-six  years  old;  a  good  deal  more  than 
half  of  my  earthly  life  is  doubtless  gone  by.  There  is  nol 
much  that  I  can  commend  in  my  life,  though  I  have  been 
industrious  and  active.  I  am  somewhat  disappointed  in 
myself;  not  in  my  reputation,  — what  men  think  of  me, — 
but  in  my  character,  what  I  really  am.  Yet  I  would  be 
more  and  better.  How  can  I  become  so  ?  To  will  is  to 
be.  I  WILL.  Help  me  to  be,  Thou  dear  One  and  holy! 
.  .  .  How  marvellously  clear  is  the  Past!  how  marvel- 
lously unknown  is  the  Future !  yet  my  future  is  wrapt  tip 


XV111 

in  me.  How  little  I  know  myself,  not  to  know  it!  I  only 
wish  to  be  useful.  So  here  I  pledge  myself  anew  to  the 
work  of  helping  man.  God  help  me ! 

"  My  Father!  who  hast  been  with  me  in  days  of  darkness 
and  dismay,  keep  me  now  in  the  way  of  duty.  Give  me 
light  in  my  darkness,  strength  for  my  weakness,  reforma- 
tion from  my  sin.  Help  me  to  grow  in  manliness,  in  like- 
ness to  thee.  Make  me  useful,  noble,  pious  within,  and 
full  of  piety  without.  Give  me  Truth  to  make  me  free, 
and  may  my  Light  become  my  Life!  May  the  years  teach 
me,  and  help  me  attain  the  measure  of  a  perfect  man! " 

In  the  winter  of  1846-47  he  writes  :  — 

"  O  Thou  who  rulest  the  changing  lot  of  man,  in  my 
new  duties  guide  and  help  me !  Make  me  pure  in  heart, 
that  I  may  see  Thee,  and  learn  thy  oracles,  therewith  to 
teach  and  bless  mankind.  Give  me  power  to  do  good. 
Help  me  remove  the  causes  of  suffering  and  of  sin.  Teach 
me  new  Truth,  new  Love,  and  may  both  shine  in  my  life." 

In  the  opening  spring  that  followed,  he  prayed 
thus :  — 

"  Oh,  let  me  know  thee,  Father  deart 

And  in  my  darkest  hour 
Give  me  the  grace  to  find  Thee  near, 
And  hide  beneath  thy  power. 

Thou  fill'st  the  morning  sky  with  light, 

Feedest  the  grass  with  dew; 
And  keepest  all  the  stars  of  night 

Each  to  thy  spirit  true. 

Pour  Thou  on  me  thy  dews  divine, 

Shed  morning  o'er  my  night! 
Lord,  let  thy  lamp  within  me  shine, 

My  life  reflect  thy  light! " 


XIX 


On  the  20th  of  April,  1847,  the  anniversary  of 
his   marriage,  he  writes  of  that  event,  and  closes 


•'Father,  help  me  to  be  true  to  myself,  and  faithful  unto 
Thee  !  I  ask  not  fame  nor  wealth,  I  ask  wisdom  ;  give  me 
goodness.  Inspire  me  full  with  truth.  Enlighten  me  with 
love.  Guard  me  from  my  greatest  dangers.  Make  me 
useful  to  men.  Help  me  to  rebuke  sin,  with  holy  lips,  — 
to  live  the  excellence  which  I  would  teach.  May  I  be  a 
Christian  man,  —  true,  faithful,  holy  of  heart  and  life! 
Make  me  equal  to  my  duty,  never  above  it.  May  my  Hope 
be  an  absolute  trust  in  Thee;  my  Faith  an  abounding  Love, 
which  blesses  my  brothers,  and  is  satisfied  with  Thee!" 

In  a  more  despondent  moment  he  breaks  forth 
thus:  — 

"  O  Thou,  who  bring'  st  the  day 

Upon  the  wintry  field, 
Shed  down  some  kindling  ray, 

That  my  poor  heart  may  yield 
A  meet  return,  and  tribute  pay. 

Oh,  not  estranged  from  Thee 

Would  I  a  moment  live  ! 
But  rather,  Lord,  to  me 

Thy  holy  presence  give, 
And  let  me  to  thy  bosom  flee." 


The  transcribers  and  editors  of  the  public  prayers 
contained  in  this  volume,  —  friends  and  disciples  of 
Parker,  —  Mr.  RUFUS  LEIGHTON  and  Miss  MATILDA 
GODDARD,  —  did,  for  many  years,  while  our  friend 


XX 


was  with  us,  and  spoke  weekly  from  his  Boston 
pulpit,  write  down  in  their  note-books  both  his  ser- 
mons and  his  prayers.  A  work  of  love,  for  which 
we  ought  to  be  grateful,  and  of  which  this  little 
book  is  but  one  witness !  In  first  publishing  it, 
years  ago,  they  said,  dating  their  preface  Sept.  26, 
1861:  — 

"  Since  the  death  of  our  minister,  many  of  his  friends 
have  expressed  an  earnest  desire  for  the  publication  of 
some  of  his  prayers,  copies  of  which  were  secured  during 
the  whole  period  of  his  ministry  at  the  Music  Hall,  and 
the  latter  half  of  that  at  the  Mclodeon,  —  caught  in  the 
air  as  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  speaker,  and  faithfully 
daguerreotyped  by  friendly  hands,  and  now  choicely  treas- 
ured^  From  these  accumulations  of  so  many  years  the 
forty  prayers  which  are  included  in  this  volume  have  been 
selected,  the  one  at  the  close  being  the  last  that  Mr.  Parker 
delivered  in  public. 

"  A  greater  variety  might  have  been  given  to  the  char- 
acter of  this  volume  by  the  insertion  of  other  prayers,  to 
the  exclusion  of  some  that  it  now  contains;  but  it  is  thought 
that  those  here  given  best  represent  the  earnest  devotion 
and  the  highest  aspirations  of  him  who  uttered  them ;  pre- 
senting, as  they  do,  those  themes  upon  which  he  most  loved 
to  dwell,  in  sermon  or  in  prayer;  and  while  there  is  not  a 
very  wide  range  of  topics  included  in  the  selection,  it  will 
be  observed  that  there  is  much  variety  in  the  expression  of 
ideas  on  the  same  topics. 

"  The  only  alterations  that  have  been  made  in  the  prayers 
as  originally  delivered  are  the  omission,  here  and  there,  of 
phrases  often  repeated,  the  introduction  of  a  few  passages 
from  other  prayers,  and  the  correction  of  such  slight  errors 
of  expression  as  are  incidental  to  extemporaneous  speaking. 


xxi 


"  It  is  believed  that  this  little  book  will  be  dearly  -wel- 
comed, not  only  by  those  at  whose  instance  it  ha^been  pre- 
pared, but  by  thousands  of  others  who  have  been  '  lifted  up 
and  strengthened '  by  these  lofty  utterances  of  a  great  and 
noble  soul. 

"  R.  L. 
"  M.  G." 

The  welcome  which  Mr.  Leighton's  volume  found 
must  still  await  it,  in  a  later  generation,  and  in 
region  of  the  world  where  Parker's  voice  was 
never  heard.  Nor  need  its  readers  be  confined  to 
the  limits,  broad  or  narrow,  of  the  church  whose 
doctrinal  opinions  agree  with  his.  John  Brown,  a 
Puritan  of  the  Puritans,  though  he  could  not  assent 
to  the  doctrine  that  Parker  preached,  joined  with 
him  in  prayer,  and  in  the  valiant  deed  that  easiest 
follows  prayer.  On  this  anniversary  of  Brown's 
death,  —  a  modern  martyrdom,  witnessed  and  at- 
tested by  Parker,  —  let  these  orisons  of  his  brother 
in  the  Spirit  find  acceptance  among  the  free,  the 
loyal,  and  the  brave,  of  all  communions  ! 

BOSTON,  Dec.  2, 1881. 


PRAYERS, 
i. 

MARGE   17,  1850. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  needest  no  worda 
for  man  to  hold  his  converse  with  thee,  we  would 
enter  into  thy  presence,  we  would  reverence  thy 
power,  we  would  worship  thy  wisdom,  we  would  adore 
thy  justice,  we  would  be  gladdened  by  thy  love,  and 
blessed  by  our  communion  with  thee.  We  know 
that  thou  needest  no  sacrifice  at  our  hands,  nor  any 
offering  at  our  lips ;  yet  we  live  in  thy  world,  we  taste 
thy  bounty,  we  breathe  thine  air,  and  thy  power  sustains 
us,  thy  justice  guides,  thy  goodness  preserves,  and  thy 
love  blesses  us  forever  and  ever.  O  Lord,  we  cannot 
fail  to  praise  thee,  though  we  cannot  praise  thee  as  we 
would.  We  bow  our  faces  down  before  thee  with  hum- 
ble hearts,  and  in  thy  presence  would  warm  our  spirits 
for  a  while,  that  the  better  we  may  be  prepared  for 
the  duties  of  life,  to  endure  its  trials,  to  bear  its  crosses, 
and  to  triumph  in  its  lasting  joys. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  world  that  is  about  us,  now 


6 

serene,  enlightened  by  the  radiance  of  day,  now  covered 
over  with  clouds  and  visited  by  storms,  and  in  serenity 
and  in  storm  still  guarded  and  watched  and  blessed  by 
thee.  We  adore  thee  who  givest  us  all  these  things 
that  we  are,  and  promisest  the  glories  that  we  are  to 
become.  For  our  daily  life  we  thank  thee,  for  its  duties 
to  exercise  our  hands,  for  its  trials  and  temptations  to 
make  strong  our  hearts,  for  the  friends  that  are  dear  to 
us,  —  a  joy  to  us  in  our  waking  hours,  and  in  the 
visions  of  the  night  still  present,  and  a  blessing  still 

We  thank  thee,  O  Lord,  for  thy  tender  providence 
which  is  over  us  all,  for  thy  loving  kindness  which 
blesses  the  child  and  the  old  man,  which  regards  the 
sinner  with  affection,  and  lovest  still  thine  holy  child. 
Father,  we  know  that  we  are  wanderers  from  thy 
way,  that  we  forget  thy  laws,  that  oft-times  the  world 
has  dominion  over  us,  that  we  are  slaves  to  pas- 
sion and  to  every  sense.  And  yet  we  rejoice  to  re- 
member that  thy  kindness  is  not  as  our  kindness,  and 
thy  love  is  infinite,  that  thou  tenderly  carest  for  thy 
children,  that  thou  art  the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  and 
in  thy  bosom  bearest  the  feeble  lambs,  and  gently 
leadest  at  last  each  wanderer  back  to  its  home. 

We  pray  thee  that  we  may  forgive  ourselves  for 
every  sin  we  commit,  that  with  penitence  we  may  wash 
out  the  remembrance  of  wrong,  and  with  wings  of  new 
resolution  fly  out  of  darkness  in  the  midst  of  trans- 
gression, into  the  higher,  brighter  heaven  of  human 
duty,  of  human  joy,  and  of  the  Christian's  peace. 


Teach  us,  O  Lord,  to  use  this  world  wisely  and  faith- 
fully and  well.  In  its  daily  duties  and  its  trials  may 
we  find  the  school  for  wisdom,  for  goodness,  and  for 
piety.  May  we  learn  by  every  trial  that  thou  sendest, 
be  strengthened  by  every  cross,  and  when  -we  stoop  in 
sadness  to  drink  bitter  waters,  may  we  rise  refreshed 
and  invigorated.  Help  us  to  live  at  peace  with  our 
souls,  disturbing  no  string  on  this  harp  of  a  thousand 
chords,  but  attuning  all  to  harmony,  and  in  our  life 
living  one  great  triumphant  hymn  to  thee.  Withhold 
from  us  what  is  evil,  though  we  beg  mightily  for  it,  and 
with  tears  and  prayers.  Help  us  to  live  in  unity  with 
our  brother  men,  reconciling  our  interest  to  their  in- 
terests, by  faithfully  discharging  every  duty,  by  pa- 
tiently bearing  with  the  weakness  or  the  strength  of 
j)ur  brothers,  and  loving  them  as  we  love  ourselves. 
Teach  us,  Father,  to  love  the  unlovely,  to  love  those 
who  evil  entreat  us,  to  toil  for  those  who  are  burdens 
in  the  world,  and  to  seek  to  save  them  from  ignorance, 
to  reform  them  of  their  wickedness,  and  to  hasten  that 
time  when  all  men  shall  recognize  that  thou  art  their 
Father,  and  their  brothers  are  indeed  their  brothel's, 
and  that  all  owe  fidelity  to  thee  and  loving-kindness  to 
their  fellow-men.  Help  us  to  live  in  unity  with  thee, 
no  sloth  hiding  us  from  thy  presence,  no  passion  turn- 
ing us  aside  from  thy  counsel,  but,  with  mind  and  con- 
science, with  heart  and  soul,  assimilating  ourselves  to 
thee,  till  thy  truth  dwells  in  our  understanding,  and  thy 
justice  enlightens  our  conscience,  and  thy  love  shines  a 


beatitude  and  a  blessed  light  in  our  heart  and  soul  for- 
ever and  ever.  ) 

In  times  ofdarkness,  when  men  fail  before  thee,  in 
days  when  men  of  high  degree  are  a  lie,  and  those  of 
low  degree  are  a  vanity,  teach  us,  O  Lord,  to  be  true 
before  thee,  not  a  vanity,  but  soberness  and  manliness  ; 
and  may  we  keep  still  our  faith  shining  in  the  midst  of 
darkness,  the  beacon-light  to  guide  us  over  stormy  seas 
to  a  home  and  haven  at  last.  Father,  give  us  strength 
for  our  daily  duty,  patience  for  our  constant  or  unac- 
customed cross,  and  in  every  time  of  trial  give  us  the 
hope  that  sustains,  the  faith  that  wins  the  victory  and 
obtains  satisfaction  and  fulness  of  joy. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  thy 
uame.  May  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  Give  us  each  day 
uur  daily  bread.  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  fur- 
give  those  who  trespass  against  us.  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  its  evil.  For  thine  is 
the  kingdun,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory  forever. 
Amen. 


II. 

AUGUST  4,  1850. 

OTHOU  Eternal  One,  whose  presence  fills  all 
space  and  occupies  all  time,  who  hast  thy  dwell- 
ing-place in  every  humble  heart  that  trustfully 
looks  up  to  thee,  we  flee  to  thee  again  to  offer  thee  our 
morning  psalm  of  thanksgiving  and  of  praise,  and  to 
ask  new  inspiration  from  thee  for  days  to  come,  whiln 
we  stain  our  sacrifice  with  penitence  for  evils  that  our 
hands  have  wrought.  Father,  may  thy  spirit  pray  witli 
us  in  our  prayer,  teaching  us  the  things  that  we  ought 
to  ask  of  thee ;  may  we  serve  thee  faithfully  and  wor 
ship  thee  aright.  0  Lord,  we  bow  down  our  spirits  be- 
fore thee,  we  reverence  thine  infinite  power,  we  adore 
thine  unbounded  wisdom,  which  understands  things 
pastt,  things  present,  and  to  come  ;  we  confide  in  thy 
perfect  justice,  knowing  that  we  are  safe ;  but,  O  Lord, 
we  rejoice  in  thy  love.  We  bless  thee  for  thy  tender 
mercies,  our  hearts  thank  thee  for  thy  loving-kindness, 
and  we  reach  out  the  arms  of  our  soul  towards  thee, 
knowing  that  thou  art  our  Father,  who  lovest  us  better 
even  than  the  mothers  that  have  borne  us.  O  Lord, 
we  do  not  know  how  to  praise  thee  as  we  ought,  for 


10 

we  do  not  understand  all  of  thy  goodness,  we  cannot 
measure  all  of  thy  loving-kindness  towards  us,  for  it  is 
infinite. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  signs  and  tokens  of  thyself 
which  thou  hast  placed  around  us  everywhere.  We 
thank  thee  for  this  lovely  day  which  thou  lendest  us. 
We  bless  thee  for  the  broad  green  world  beneath  our 
feet,  for  these  wondrous  heavens  above  our  heads, 
which  nightly  thou  sowest  with  starry  seed,  and  every 
morning  limnest  with  orient  light.  We  thank  thee  that 
all  these  things  are  a  revelation  of  thee,  for  day  giveth 
voice  unto  day,  and  night  speaketh  unto  night,  and  the 
rivers  as  they  roll,  and  the  ocean  as  it  ebbs  and  floods, 
and  this  all-embracing  sky, —  O  Lord,  they  tell  of  thy 
magnitude,  they  speak  of  thy  power,  they  talk  of  thy 
wisdom,  and  they  charm  us  with  tidings  of  thy  love. 

But  a  greater  revelation  than  this  of  thyself  hast 
Khou  made  in  thy  still  small  voice,  which  whispers  in 
our  soul  that  all  this  magnificence  is  but  a  drop  of  thee, 
yea,  a  little  sparklet  that  has  fallen  from  thy  presence, 
thou  Central  Fire,  and  Radiant  Light  of  all.  We  know 
that  these  outward  things  are  but  a  sparkle  of  thy 
power,  a  whisper  of  thy  wisdom,  a  faint  breath  of  thy 
loving-kindness.  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  on  our 
soul  thou  hast  writ  that  thou  art  our  Father,  that  thy 
name  is  Love,  that  we  should  not  tremble  nor  fear  be- 
fore thee,  but  as  a  child  to  its  mother,  so  may  we  turn 
longingly  and  lovingly  and  with  unfailing  trust  to  thee. 
Pardon  us  that  we  have  known  thee  no  better,  that  we 


11 

have  trembled  when  we  should  have  rejoiced,  and  have 
been  afraid  when  there  was  none  to  molest  us  nor  tc 
make  us  afraid.  0  Lord,  open  our  inner  eye  that  we 
may  see  thee  as  thou  art,  touch  thou  our  soul  with 
thine  own  inspiration  that  we  may  know  thee,  that  we 
may  love  thee,  that  we  may  serve  thee  with  our  daily 
life. 

We  remember  in  our  prayer  the  temptations  which 
every  day  brings  with  it,  our  sorrows,  and  our  trials, 
and  our  cares.  Arm  us  for  the  duty  which  thou  givest 
us  to  do,  make  us  strong  to  bear  every  cross,  patient 
and  earnest  to  do  every  day's  work  in  its  own  day,  and 
to  bear  ourselves  so  bravely  that  we  shall  always  acquit 
us  as  men,  and  so  be  strong.  In  our  day  of  passion, 
we  pray  thee  to  deliver  us  out  of  its  flame  and  heat, 
that  we  come  as  thy  children  of  old  out  of  the  furnace, 
with  no  smell  of  its  pollution  on  our  garment's  hem. 
And  in  the  more  dangerous  period  of  interest  and  am- 
bition, we  pray  thee  to  save  us  from  its  chilling  cold 
and  its  wintry  frost,  that  we  come  out  not  benumbed 
by  its  palsy,  nor  frozen  by  its  snow.  Give  us  wisdom 
to  disperse  our  darkness,  let  justice  triumph  over  selfish- 
ness in  our  soul,  let  duty  be  supreme  over  desire,  till 
every  desire  becomes  dutiful  and  our  daily  life  is  one 
continual  sacrament  to  thee.  Father,  let  a  living  love 
of  thee  dwell  in  our  hearts,  let  it  become  strong  within 
us,  and  lead  to  a  faith  that  fails  not  and  needs  not  to  be 
ashamed.  May  our  earthly  life  be  beautiful  and  ac- 
ceptable in  thy  sight,  and  may  our  souls  be  filled  with 


12 

every  spiritual  gift  from  thee ;  and  receiving  much,  may 
we  give  the  more,  making  our  lives  still  more  acceptable 
to  thee.  Lead  us  through  evil  and  through  good  re- 
port, bearing  the  cross  which  thou  layest  upon  us ;  and 
by  our  prayers,  our  toil  and  our  tears,  change  thou  U3 
into  the  glorious  image  of  thyself,  that  we  may  be 
wholly  thine,  transformed  to  thee,  and  thy  truth  dwell 
with  us,  thy  justice  pitch  her  tent  with  us,  and  thine  own 
loving-kindness  charm  and  enchant  our  very  souls.  So 
may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  so  thy  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 


18 


III. 

OCTOBER  6,  1850. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  thou  Soul  of  ou* 
souls,  and  Safeguard  of  the  world,  we  flee  to  thee 
to  sing  our  morning  psalm,  to  pray  our  morning 
prayer,  bringing  the  offering  of  gratitude  from  our 
hearts,  and  asking  of  thee  the  gift  of  thy  holy  spirit. 
Thou  sendest  down  thy  sunlight  on  the  world,  thou 
rainest  thy  rain  to  still  the  dust  and  pacify  the  stones 
of  the  street  crying  for  moisture  from  the  skies,  and 
we  know  that  thou  wilt  feed  our  spirits  with  thine  in- 
spiration, ministering  truth  to  the  hungry  mind,  justice 
to  the  conscience  that  asketh  right  of  thee,  and  will 
pour  thy  holy  love  on  every  earnest,  seeking,  asking 
soul. 

We  thank  thee  for  thy  broad  providence  which  cares 
for  the  grass  in  the  fields,  and  adorns  every  little  flower 
that  fringes  the  hedgerows  of  life,  and  carest  also  for 
the  mighty  orbs  above  our  heads  and  the  solid  ground 
beneath  our  feet ;  and  thyself  art  not  hard  to  find,  nor 
far  to  seek,  but  art  with  every  living  soul  of  man. 
Father,  we  thank  thee  for  thy  justice  which  presides 
over  this  world,  and  out  of  evil  bringeth  forth  good 


14 

continually,  disappointing  the  wickedness  of  men,  and 
doing  all  things  for  our  good.  We  thank  thee  for  thine 
unbounded  love  which  caused  us  to  be,  which  made  this 
fair  world,  which  waiteth  for  us  in  our  transgressions, 
and  goes  out  to  meet  us,  prodigals  or  penitent,  a  great 
way  off,  and  blesses  still  thy  wandering,  even  unre- 
pentant child.  We  thank  thee  for  thy  voice  in  our 
hearts,  for  the  inspiration  which  thou  givest  to  the  sons 
of  men,  to  show  us  the  way  in  which  we  should  go,  to 
rebuke  us  for  every  folly,  to  chastise  us  for  every  sin, 
but  to  encourage  everything  that  is  holy  and  noble  and 
true  in  our  hearts. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  examples  of  human  ex- 
cellence which  thou  raisest  up  from  time  to  time,  the 
landmarks  of  human  life,  and  our  guiding  lights  to  lead 
us  safely  home  to  port  and  peace,  to  heaven  here  and 
heaven  at  last  with  thee. 

We  pray  thee  that  we  may  be  faithful  and  true  to 
every  gift  which  thou  hast  given  us.  In  a  time  of 
darkness,  when  great  men  are  a  deceit  and  little  men 
are  a  lie,  may  our  heart  never  fail  us,  nor  we  hesitate 
nor  despair  for  a  moment  of  thy  goodness  and  thy  truth. 
Though  hand  join  in  hand,  teach  us  that  wickedness 
cannot  prosper,  nor  iniquity  endure.  Fix  our  eyes  on 
the  true,  the  right,  the  holy,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good, 
till  we  love  them,  and  therein  love  thee  with  an  affec- 
tion that  cannot  be  ashamed  and  will  not  be  defeated. 
Teach  us  to  be  blameless  in  our  daily  life,  to  be  heroic 
in  our  conduct,  distinguishing  between  the  doctrines  rvf 


15 

men  and  thine  everlasting  commandments.  Help  us  to 
'ove  thee,  the  Creator,  more  than  the  creature  before 
our  eyes  ;  to  imitate  thy  justice,  to  share  thy  truth,  and 
to  spread  abroad  thy  living  love  to  all  mankind.  Are 
we  weak,  —  and  we  know  we  are,  —  give  us  strength ; 
sinners,  —  and  our  heart  cries  out  against  us,  —  chastise 
and  rebuke  us  till  we  repent  of  our  sin,  and  come  back 
with  humble  hearts  to  worship  thee  in  holiness,  in 
nobleness,  and  in  truth.  Give  us  the  love  of  thyself 
which  shall  tread  down  every  passion  under  its  feet  that 
wars  against  the  soul,  that  shall  make  our  daily  lives 
beneficent,  and  so  cast  out  every  fear,  the  fear  of  man, 
and  the  fear,  0  Lord,  of  thee.  Help  us  to  know  thee 
in  thine  immensity,  to  feel  thee  and  to  love  thee  in 
thine  infinite  love,  till  every  weight  is  cast  off  from  us, 
and  with  thy  sunshine  OP  our  wings  we  mount  up  as 
eagles  and  fly  towards  thee.  We  pray  that  we  may  be 
armed  against  temptation,  and  fortified  inly  for  every 
duty,  prepared  for  every  emergency,  and  ready  to  serve 
thee  with  our  limbs  and  our  lives. 

We  ask  thy  blessing  on  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men  in  the  various  departments  of  our  mortal  lives. 
May  the  young  be  trained  up  in  innocence,  and  taught, 
not  to  fear  men,  but  to  love  their  brothers  and  to  love 
thee.  When  sundered  but  joyful  souls  are  by  their 
affection  wedded  and  made  one,  may  a  higher  life 
spring  up  in  their  united  hearts,  and  may  they  serve 
thee  with  blameless  beauty  and  celestial  piety  set  in  a 
mortal  life.  In  the  various  trials  of  our  daily  business 


16 

teach  us  to  be  honest,  and  to  love  men,  to  respect  the 
integrity  of  our  own  souls,  and  never  waver,  turned  this 
side  by  the  fear  of  men,  and  that  side  by  the  lust  for 
their  praise  and  their  admiration. 

We  remember  the  poor  and  the  needy  in  our  prayer ; 
yea,  Lord,  the  poorest  and  the  neediest  of  all,  who  own 
not  by  human  laws  their  bodies,  nor  their  limbs,  nor 
lives,  who  flee  from  the  iron  house  of  bondage  and  ask 
shelter  here  with  us.  Yea,  Lord,  their  prayer  from 
our  lips  goes  up  before  thee,  asking  the  rights  of  man 
which  thou  didst  give  them  at  their  birth,  but  the  oppres- 
sor so  fraudfully  and  forcibly  rent  away.  O  Lord,  we 
are  all  sinners  before  thee,  but  we  remember  those  who 
with  unashamed  countenance  tread  down  thy  law,  who 
even  here  seek  for  the  life  and  freedom  of  men,  and 
defile  the  fair  heritage  which  our  fathers  asked  of  thee 
in  their  prayer  and  purchased  with  their  sacred  blood. 
Father,  we  pray  thee  that  thou  wilt  pity  those  who  have 
shown  no  pity,  and  wilt  love  tho>e  who  to  their  brothers 
show  only  hate,  treading  them  with  bloody  hoofs  into 
the  ground,  and  who  with  the  brow  of  brass  affront 
thy  thunders  and  blaspheme  thy  love.  Teach  us,  O 
Lord,  our  hardest  task,  to  love  also  these.  And  our 
poor  brothers,  who  with  chained  hands  lift  up  an  un- 
chained soul  to  thee,  who  flee  from  city  to  city,  while 
their  persecutors  desecrate  thy  name,  who  wander  from 
one  nation  to  another  kingdom,  seeking  for  the  rights 
of  man,  —  we  pray  thee  that  thou  wilt  guide  them  in 
their  flight  by  night,  and  still  by  day,  and  raise  up  de- 


17 

fenders  for  them  here  and  everywhere.  Stir  up  the 
souls  of  noble  men  that  they  bewray  not  him  that 
wandereth,  that  they  hide  and  shelter  the  outcast,  and 
are  a  wall  of  fire  about  those  who  have  taken  their  life 
in  their  hands  and  fled  to  us  for  succor,  till  a  band  of 
brothers  fold  their  arms  about  the  needy,  and  uplift 
those  that  are  faint  and  ready  to  perish  in  their  fall. 
0  Lord,  thy  charity  never  faileth.  Touch  the  hearts 
of  men  with  humanity,  that  they  may  learn  justice  and 
to  love  their  brothers.  Make  us  nobler,  and  braver, 
and  holier.  Teach  us  to  love  all  men.  So  let  us  be 
thy  children,  loving  those  that  hate  us,  and  praying  for 
such  as  despitefully  use  us.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come, 
and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


18 


IV. 

JULY  18,  1852. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  who  also  art  not 
less    on    earth,   peopling  every   point  of    space 
with   thy  presence,  and   filling   every  point   of 
spirit  with   thy  power,  thy  wisdom,  and  thy  love,  we 
would  lift  up  our  souls  unto  thee,  and  gather  together 
our  scattered  and  estrayed  spirits,  that  we  may  hold 
communion  with  thee  for  a  moment  in  our  prayer,  and 
be  strengthened  for  daily  duty,  and  made  newly  grate- 
ful for  joys  which  thou  givest  us,  more  faithful  to  our- 
selves and  more  reliant  upon  thee. 

We  know  that  thou  wilt  remember  us,  nor  needest 
thou  to  be  entreated  in  our  morning  psalm  or  morning 
prayer,  for  before  our  heart  knows  our  need  of  thee, 
thou  art  with  our  heart,  and  sustainest  and  givest  us 
life.  Father,  we  know  that  though  earthly  friends  may 
prove  faithless,  though  distance  of  space  and  length  of 
time  may  hide  the  child  from  the  mother  that  bore  him, 
yet  thine  eye  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps,  and  thou  re- 
memberest  us  when  mortal  friends  forsake  us,  or  when 
time  and  distance  shut  out  the  affections  of  the  mortal 
heart.  Yea,  Lord,  the  distance  is  no  distance  with  thee, 


19 

for  thy  presence  shineth  everywhere  as  the  day,  and 
thy  loving-kindness  waits  on  the  footsteps  of  morning, 
and  thou  fillest  up  the  shades  of  evening,  and  givest  to 
thy  beloved,  even  in  their  sleep. 

Father  in  heaven,  we  thank  thee  for  all  this  world 
of  thy  providence,  so  fertile  in  wonders,  so  rich  in 
beauty  to  every  hungering  sense  of  man.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  carest  for  the  ground,  that  nightly  thou 
waterest  it  with  dews  from  heaven,  and  in  thine  own 
season  sendest  the  river  of  waters  in  plenteous  showers 
to  moisten  field  and  garden  and  hill  and  town.  Father, 
we  thank  thee  for  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy,  that  thou  watchest  over  every  little  fly  spread- 
ing his  thin  wings  in  this  morning's  sun,  and  holdest 
this  system  of  universes  in  thine  own  arms  of  infinite 
and  never-ending  love. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  beauty  which  thou  bringest 
forth  in  every  stream  of  water,  on  every  hill-side,  and 
that  wherewith  thou  fringest  the  paths  of  men  as  they 
pass  to  their  daily  work.  We  bless  thee  for  the  beauty 
which  thou  gatherest  in  the  lily's  fragrant  cup,  clothing 
it  with  a  kinglier  loveliness  than  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  could  ever  put  on  ;  and  in  these  flowers  of  earth, 
and  in  those  imperishable  flowers  of  beauty  over  our 
heads,  we  read,  0  Lord,  the  alphabet  of  thy  loving- 
kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy.  But  we  thank  thee 
still  more  that  in  a  tenderer  and  lovelier  and  holier  way 
thou  revealest  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tenderness 
and  thy  holiness  of  heart  to  thy  children. 


20 

We  thank  thee  for  the  large  faculties  with  which 
thou  hast  gifted  the  children  of  men.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  senses  that  take  hold  of  the  world  of  sight  and 
touch  and  sound,  and  are  fed  and  beautified  thereon. 
We  thank  thee  for  these  spiritual  powers  which  lay 
hold  of  justice  and  truth,  and  love  and  faith  in  thee, 
these  flowers  of  the  soul,  these  imperishable  stars  of 
the  human  spirit ;  and  we  bless  thee  for  thy  yet  greater 
loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  which  thou  speakest 
to  our  souls.  We  thank  thee  that,  as  thou  feedest  the 
little  grass  by  the  roadside  and  every  flower  of  the 
field  with  dew  by  night  and  rain  by  day,  and  warmest 
and  waterest  their  roots,  so  thine  inspiration  falls  down 
upon  the  souls  of  thy  children,  and  thou  feedest  this 
strong  and  flamelike  flower  with  thine  own  wisdom, 
thine  own  justice,  thy  holiness  and  thy  love. 

Lord,  what  shall  we  render  to  thee  for  the  least  of 
the  mercies  which  thou  hast  given  us  ?  We  pray  the  ? 
that  we  may  live  as  blameless  as  the  flowers  of  the 
field ;  that  our  lives  within  may  be  as  fragrant,  and  with- 
out as  fair,  and  that  what  is  promise  in  our  spring, 
what  is  blossom  in  our  summer,  may  in  the  harvest  of 
heaven  bear  fruit  of  everlasting  life. 

We  look  unto  thee,  and  we  will  not  pray  thee  that 
thou  wilt  remember  us.  We  know  that  though  a 
mother  may  forget  the  babe  that  she  has  borne,  thou 
never  forsakest  a  single  child  of  thine.  In  sorrow  we 
turn  our  eyes  to  thee,  and  thou  wipest  the  tears  from 
our  eyelids ;  in  darkness  we  look  up  to  thee,  and  it  is 


21 

all  light  within  our  soul.  When  those  that  are  nearest 
and  dearest  to  our  heart  have  gone  down  to  the  sides 
of  the  pit,  O  Lord,  we  know  that  the  mortal  is  ren- 
dered up  that  the  soul  may  be  clothed  with  immortality, 
and  inherit  everlasting  joys  with  thee.  When  our  own 
heart  cries  out  against  us,  we  know  that  thou  art 
greater  than  our  heart,  and  no  folly,  no  wandering,  and 
no  sin  can  ever  hide  us  from  thine  infinite  motherliness. 
We  bless  thee  that  all  thine  ordinances  are  designed  for 
our  good,  that  the  rod  of  thine  affliction  and  the  staff 
of  our  support,  they  both  comfort  us,  for  thou  still  art 
our  shepherd,  and  leadest  us  beside  the  still  waters,  and 
wilt  feed  us  in  the  full  pastures  and  give  peace  to  our 
soul. 

O  Thou  our  God,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  be 
strengthened  for  every  day's  duty,  have  patience  to 
bear  any  cross  that  is  laid  upon  us,  wisdom  to  order 
our  pathway  aright,  the  heart  of  holiness  to  trust  thee 
with  an  absolute  faith,  and  the  soul  that  is  full  of  loving- 
kindness  to  do  good  to  our  brothers  here  on  the  earth. 
So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


22 


V. 

AUGUST  1,  1852. 

OfHOU  Creating  and  Protecting  Power,  who  art 
our  Father,  yea,  our  Mother  not  the  less,  we  flee 
unto  thee,  and  would  lift  up  the  psalm  of  our 
thanksgiving  unto  thee,  and  by  our  prayer  seek  to  hold 
communion  with  thy  spirit,  and  be  strengthened  for  the 
cares  and  the  duties  and  the  delights  of  our  mortal  life. 
We  come  before  thee,  O  Lord,  with  the  remembrance 
of  our  daily  toils,  and  the  common  things  of  life  still 
murmuring  in  our  ears,  and  we  would  lift  up  our  souls 
unto  thee,  to  learn  new  wisdom,  to  acquire  more  justice, 
to  feel  a  deeper  philanthropy  and  a  heartier  piety  in 
our  own  souls.  We  know  that  thou  art  not  to  be  wor- 
shipped as  though  thou  askedst  even  prayer  at  our  poor 
lips,  for  we  know  that  thou  ever  watchest  over  us,  and 
foldest  the  universe  in  thine  arms  of  love,  needing  no 
prayer  of  ours  to  kindle  thy  sympathy  to  the  humblest 
of  thy  creatures.  O  Lord,  the  earth  is  thine  altar,  and 
the  heavens  over  our  head,  they  are  the  incense  of 
creation  offered  in  their  beauty  to  thy  greatness  and  thy 
glorious  name.  O  Lord,  the  universe  is  a  voice  of 
thanksgiving  unto  thee,  and  in  serene  and  cloudy  days 


23 

this  flying  globe  lifts  up  her  voice,  and  sings  to  thee, 
morning  and  evening  and  at  noon  of  day,  her  continual 
psalm  of  joy  and  praise.  But  our  hearts  in  their 
poverty  constrain  us  to  flee  unto  thee,  out  of  the  sor- 
rows and  the  joys  of  this  world,  to  praise  thee  for  thy 
blessings,  and  to  ask  of  thee  new  glories  in  time  to 
come.  We  desire  to  be  deeply  conscious  of  thy  pres- 
ence, which  fills  all  time,  which  occupies  all  space.  We 
would  know  thee  as  thou  art,  and  in  our  souls  feel  con- 
tinually thy  residence  with  us  and  the  abiding  of  thy 
spirit  in  our  heart. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  this  wondrous  and  lovely 
world  in  which  thou  hast  placed  us.  For  the  magnifi- 
cent beauty  of  summer  we  thank  thee,  for  the  storied 
promise  of  the  spring  which  has  gone  by,  and  the  ear- 
nest of  the  harvest,  whose  weeks  in  their  fulfilment 
bring  daily  new  tokens  of  thy  goodness  and  thine  in- 
finite love.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  waterest  the 
earth  with  rain  from  thine  own  sweet  heavens,  rejoicing 
the  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills,  which  thou  also  carest 
for,  as  for  thy  chosen  ones,  and  ministerest  life  to  every 
little  moss  amid  the  stones  of  a  city,  and  feedest  the 
mighty  forests  which  clothe  with  verdure  our  own  New 
England  hills.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  givest  us  grass 
for  the  cattle,  and  corn  to  strengthen  the  frame  of  man, 
and  orderest  all  things  by  number  and  measure  and 
weight,  wielding  the  whole  into  a  mighty  mass  of  use- 
fulness and  a  glorious  orb  of  transcendent  beauty.  We 
oless  thee  for  the  beautiful  amid  the  homely,  the  sub- 


24 

lime  among  things  low,  for  the  good  amid  evil  things 
and  the  eternal  amid  what  is  transient,  and  daily  pas* 
ing  from  our  eye. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  happiness  that  attends  us  in 
our  daily  life,  for  the  joys  of  our  daily  work,  for  the 
success  which  thou  givest  to  the  labors  of  our  hand, 
and  the  strength  to  our  soul  which  comes  from  our 
daily  toil  on  the  earth.  We  thank  thee  for  the  plain 
and  common  household  joys  of  life,  for  the  satisfactions 
of  friendship,  for  the  blessedness  of  love  in  all  the  dear 
relationships  of  mortal  life.  Father,  we  thank  thee  foj 
the  large  sympathy  with  our  brother-men  everywhere 
and  that  we  know  that  thou  hast  made  them  all  alike  in 
thine  own  image,  and  hast  destined  all  thy  children  to 
toil  on  the  earth,  and  to  a  glorious  immortality  of  never 
ending  blessedness  beyond  the  grave. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  that  we  know  thee,  that  amid 
hopes  that  so  often  deceive  us,  amid  expectations  that 
fail  and  perish,  we  have  still  our  faith  assured  in  thee, 
who  art  without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning.  O 
Lord,  thou  delightest  us  still  more  when  we  remember 
that  our  life  itself  is  the  gift  of  thine  hand.  In  oui 
sorrow  and  sadness  we  look  up  to  thee,  and  when  mor 
tal  friends  fail  us,  and  the  urn  that  held  our  treasured 
joys  is  broken  into  fragments,  and  the  wine  of  life  is 
scattered  at  our  feet,  O  Lord,  we  rejoice  to  know  that 
thou  understandest  our  lot,  and  wilt  make  every  sorrow 
of  our  life  turn  out  for  our  endless  welfare,  and  our 
continual  growth,  so  that  thou  wilt  take  us  home  to  thy 


;ielf  with  no  stain  of  weeping  on  our  face.  O  Lord, 
when  ourselves  have  been  false,  when  our  own  hearts  cry 
out  against  us,  and  we  stain  our  daily  sacrifice  with  re- 
morseful tears,  we  rejoice  to  know  that  thou  art  greater 
than  our  heart,  and  wilt  bring  home  every  wandering 
child  of  thine,  with  no  stain  of  sin  on  our  immortal 
soul.  Father,  we  thank  thee  that  amid  the  joys  of  the 
flesh,  amid  the  delights  of  our  daily  work,  and  all  the 
sweet  and  silent  blessedness  of  mortal  friendship  and 
love  upon  the  earth,  thou  givest  us  the  joy  of  knowing 
thee,  the  still  and  calm  delight  of  lying  low  in  thy  hand, 
and  feeling  the  breath  of  thy  spirit  upon  us.  Yea, 
Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  thou  boldest  each  one  of  us, 
yea,  all  of  thy  children,  and  the  universe  itself,  as  a 
mother  folds  her  baby  to  her  bosom,  and  blessest  us 
ill  with  thine  infinite  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy. 

O  Father,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  never  be  false 
to  the  great  glories  with  which  thou  surroundest  us, 
ander  our  feet,  and  over  our  head,  and  the  still  diviner 
glories  which  thou  placest  in  our  heart  and  soul.  We 
pray  thee  that  within  us  our  lives  may  be  blameless, 
wvery  faculty  active  and  at  its  work,  and  that  our  out- 
ward lives  may  be  useful,  and  all  our  existence  blame- 
less and  beautiful  in  thy  sight,  0  Lord,  our  Strength  and 
our  Redeemer.  May  our  lives  be  marked  every  day  by 
iome  new  lesson  that  we  have  learned,  some  duty  that 
we  have  done,  some  faithfulness  that  we  have  accom- 
plished ;  and  at  last,  when  our  mortal  pilgrimage  is 


26 

ended,  lake  us  to  thyself.  O  Lord,  to  dwell  with  thee, 
leaving  behind  us  the  memory  of  good  deed?,  and 
bearing  with  us  a  soul  disciplined  by  the  trials  of 
life,  and  enlarged  by  its  blessings.  So  may  we  pass 
from  glory  to  glory,  till  we  are  changed  into  thine 
own  image,  and  the  peace  of  thy  love  is  made  perfect 
in  us.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


27 


VI. 

JULY  17,  1853. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  who  fillest  all 
time  with  thine  eternity  and  all  space  with  thy 
loving-kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy,  we  flee 
unto  thee  once  more,  seeking  to  deepen  our  conscious- 
ness of  thee,  to  pour  out  our  hearts'  gratitude  for  thy 
daily  blessings  continually  given  unto  us,  and  to  seek 
new  inspiration  from  thy  spirit,  extending  everywhere. 

O  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  this  world  about  us,  and 
above  us,  and  underneath  our  feet,  which  thou  hast 
given  us  to  dwell  in.  We  thank  thee  for  the  ground 
that  we  tread  on,  for  the  trees  that  roof  us  over,  for  the 
bread  that  we  eat,  and  for  the  fleeces  that  we  wear. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all  this  wonderful  beauty 
wherein  thou  speakest  to  the  wakening  sense  of  man. 
We  bless  thee  for  the  day,  which  from  thy  golden  urn 
thou  pourest  out  upon  the  world,  and  that  every  morning 
thou  baptizest  anew  each  speck  of  earth  with  heaven's 
own  light.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  whitenest  th« 
darkness  of  the  night  by  the  moon's  untiring  beauty, 
and  that  thou  pasturest  the  stars  in  thine  own  fields 
of  boundless  space,  nor  sufferest  thou  a  single  fleece 


28 

of  ligbt  ever  to  be  lost,  thou  Shepherd  of  the  earth, 
and  Shepherd  of  the  sky. 

We  thank  thee  for  this  nobler  world  of  man,  for 
its  serener  day,  its  light  more  heavenly,  and  all  the 
blessed  stars  of  consciousness  that  shine  within  our 
soul.  We  thank  thee,  that  thou  makest  us  capable  to 
understand  the  material  world  that  is  about  us,  and 
to  rule  and  master  by  wisdom,  by  justice  and  by  love, 
this  greater,  nobler  world  that  we  are. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  still  and  silent  joys  that  come 
to  every  earnest  and  holy  heart.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  happiness  that  attends  our  daily  work,  and  all  the 
things  which  thou  givest  us  to  do  here  on  the  earth. 

We  thank  thee,  that  thou  hast  given  us  this  immortal 
soul,  which,  feeding  on  the  earth,  grows  for  what  is 
more  than  earthly,  and  with  great  hungering  of  heart, 
reaches  ever  upwards  for  what  is  perfect,  for  what  is 
good  and  beautiful  and  holy  in  thine  own  sight.  We 
thank  thee  that,  as  thou  feedest  every  plant  with  dew 
from  heaven,  and  with  light  from  the  world's  great  sun, 
so  with  sweet  influence  thou  rainest  inspiration  down 
upon  thy  children,  and  with  thy  loving-kindness  wilt 
bless  every  soul,  though  wandering  oft-times  from  thee. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  daily  lives,  the  per- 
plexities of  our  business,  the  trials  of  our  patience,  the 
doubts,  and  the  darkness,  yea,  and  the  sin  that  doth 
most  easily  beset  us ;  and  we  pray  thee  that  we  may 
be  warned  by  all  that  we  suffer,  and  urged  onwards  by 
everything  that  we  enjoy,  till  we  have  cast  behind  us 


the  littleness  of  our  childhood,  and  with  manly,  wom- 
anly dignity,  pursue  our  march  on  earth,  not  weary 
though  we  run,  and  not  fainting  as  we  mount  up  like 
eagles  towards  thy  perfection. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  disappointments,  the 
sadness,  and  the  affliction  of  our  mortal  life.  We  re- 
member how  often  our  arms  are  folded  around  empti- 
ness, when  the  mortal  whom  we  truly  love  has  taken 
wings  to  itself  and  is  immortal  with  thee. 

Father,  we  pray  thee,  that  thou  wilt  instruct  us  in 
these,  our  earthly  misfortunes,  and,  by  every  disappoint- 
ment, and  all  affliction,  may  we  grow  wiser,  and  purer, 
more  holy-hearted  still;  and  while  in  our  feebleness  we 
may  not  thank  thee  for  what  thou  hast  taken,  O  Lord, 
let  us  learn  from  sorrow  a  deeper  lesson  than  joy  and 
gladness  ever  bring.  Even  as  the  night  reveals  a  whole 
heaven  of  stars,  so  may  the  darkness  of  disappointment, 
the  night  of  sorrow,  open  heaven  to  thy  children's  eyes, 
till  brighter  beams  are  about  us,  and  the  consciousness 
of  immortality  fills  up  our  souls  and  wipes  the  tears 
from  every  eye. 

So  may  all  our  mortal  life  be  a  journey  upwards,  and 
we  fly  forwards  towards  thee,  till,  at  last,  may  thy  truth 
fill  our  understanding,  may  thy  justice  enlarge  our 
heart,  and  may  love  and  holiness  and  faith  in  thee  sub- 
due every  unholy  thing,  and  change  us  anew  to  thine 
own  image,  O  Thou  who  art  our  Father  and  the  Mother 
of  our  souls.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven 


VII. 

FEBRUARY  5,  1*54. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and 
near  unto  every  heart,  we  flee  unto  thee,  seeking 
to  feel  thy  presence,  and,  conscious  of  thee,  to 
know  thee  as  thou  art,  and  to  worship  thee  with  all  our 
mind  and  conscience  and  heart  and  soul.  We  seek  to 
commune  with  thy  spirit  for  a  moment,  that  we  may 
freshen  our  hearts,  tired  with  the  world's  journey  and 
sore  travel,  and  bow  our  faces  down  and  drink  again  at 
the  living  waters  of  thy  life.  O  Thou  Infinite  One,  we 
reverence  thee,  who  art  the  permanent  in  things  that 
change,  the  foundation  of  what  lasts,  the  loveliness  of 
things  beautiful,  and  the  wisdom  and  the  justice  and  the 
love  which  make  and  hold  and  bless  all  this  world  of 
matter  and  of  men.  0  Thou  who  art  without  variable- 
ness or  turning  shadow,  we  thank  thee  that  thou  need- 
est  not  our  poor  prayers  to  teach  thee  of  our  need,  nor 
askest  thou  our  supplication's  argument  to  quicken  thy 
mercy  or  to  stir  thy  love.  Thou  anticipatest  before  we 
call,  and  doest  more  and  better  for  us  than  we  can  ever 
ask  or  think. 

O  leather,  who  adornest   the   summer  and  cheerest 


31 

the  winter  with  thy  presence,  we  thank  thee  that  we 
know  that  them  art  our  Father,  and  our  Mother,  that 
thou  foldest  in  thine  arms  all  the  worlds  which  thou 
hast  made,  and  warmest  with  thy  mother's  breath  each 
mote  that  peoples  the  sun's  beams,  and  blessest  every 
wandering,  erring  child  of  man. 

0  Lord,  how  marvellous  is  thy  loving-kindness  and 
thy  tender  mercy,  which  thou  spreadest  out  over  matter 
and  beast  and  man.  In  loving-kindness  hast  thou  made 
them  all,  and  in  tender  mercy  thou  watchest  over  the 
wanderings  of  the  world,  blessing  those  that  sorrow, 
and  recalling  such  as  go  astray.  Oh,  whither  can  we 
flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  we  take  the  wings  of  the 
morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
sea,  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  us,  and  thy  right 
hand  shall  hold  us  up.  Yea,  Lord,  our  transgres- 
sion hideth  us  not  from  thee  ;  but  thine  eye  seeth  in 
sin  as  in  righteousness,  and  when  our  own  hearts  cry 
out  against  us,  thou,  who  art  greater  than  our  heart,  still 
takest  us  up,  bearest  us  on  thy  wings,  and  blessest  us 
with  thine  infinite  love. 

Father,  we  remember  before  thee  our  several  wants 
and  conditions  in  life,  and  we  thank  thee  for  the  happi- 
ness that  crowns  our  days,  for  the  success  that  attends 
our  efforts  here  on  earth,  the  brightness  that  we  gather 
in  our  homes,  and  the  hearts  whose  beating  is  the  music 
round  our  fireside  and  their  countenance  the  blessing  ou 
our  daily  bread.  We  thank  thee  for  th»ie  things  where- 
in our  hearts  rejoice. 


32 

But  we  remember  also  in  our  prayer  the  world's 
sternness  and  severity,  the  sorrows  that  stain  our  face 
with  weeping,  and  make  our  hearts  sometimes  run  over 
with  our  sadness,  and  our  deep  distress.  Father,  it'  \ve 
cannot  thank  thee  for  the  things  that  we  suffer,  we  still 
will  thank  thee  that  we  know  that  thine  eye  pities  us  in 
our  sorrows,  and  no  sadness  stains  our  face  but  thou 
knewest  it  before  we  were  born,  and  gatherest  the  tears 
which  we  shed,  and  changest  them  into  glorious  pearls, 
to  shine  in  our  crown  of  glory  as  morning  stars  that 
herald  the  coining  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  here  below. 

We  pray  thee  that  we  may  find  comfort  in  every  sor- 
rjw,  and  when  the  world  turns  its  cold,  hard  eye  upon 
»s,  when  the  mortal  fades  from  our  grasp,  and  the 
» liadow  of  death  falls  on  the  empty  seat  of  child  or 
»fife  or  friend,  O  Lord,  by  the  shining  of  thy  candle  in 
*  ur  heart,  may  we  see  our  way  through  darkness  unto 
\ight,  and  journey  from  strength  to  strength,  our  hearts 
still  stayed  on  thee. 

Help  us  to  grow  stronger  and  nobler  by  this  world's 
varying  good  and  ill,  and  while  we  enlarge  the  quantity 
of  our  being  by  continual  life,  may  we  improve  its  kind 
and  quality  not  less,  and  become  fairer,  and  tenderer,  and 
heavenlier  too,  as  we  leave  behind  us  the  various  events 
of  our  mortal  life.  So,  Father,  may  we  grow  in  good- 
ness and  in  grace,  and  here  on  earth  attain  the  perfect 
measure  of  a  complete  man.  And  so  in  our  heart,  and 
our  daily  life,  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 


VIII. 

NOVEMBER  27,  185<5. 

THANKSGIVING  DAT. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  art  everywhere  that 
the  light  of  day  sheds  down  its  glorious  lustre, 
and  in  the  caverns  of  the  earth  where  the  light 
of  day  cometh  not,  we  would  draw  near  to  thee  and 
worship  thy  spirit,  which  at  all  times  is  near  to  us.  O 
Thou  Infinite  One,  who  art  amidst  all  the  silences  of 
nature,  and  forsakest  us  not  with  thy  spirit  where  thu 
noisy  feet  of  men  are  continually  heard,  we  pray  theo 
that  the  spirit  of  prayer  may  be  in  us  while  we  lift 
up  our  hearts  unto  thee.  Thou  askest  not  even  oui: 
gratitude,  but  when  our  cup  is  filled  with  blessings  to 
the  brim  and  runneth  over  with  bounties,  we  would 
remember  thee  who  fillest  it,  and  givest  every  good  and 
precious  gift. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  special  material  bless- 
ings which  we  enjoy ;  for  the  prosperity  which  has 
attended  the  labors  of  thy  children  in  the  months  that 
are  past,  for  the  harvest  of  corn  and  of  grass  which 
the  hand  of  man,  obedient  to  his  toilsome  thought,  has 
gathered  up  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  We  bless 
3 


84 

r.hee  that  when  our  toil  has  spoken  to  the  earth,  the 
furrows  of  the  field  have  answered  with  sufficient,  yea, 
with  abundant  returns  of  harvest  to  our  hand.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  blessings  of  the  deep,  and  treasures 
hid  in  the  sands,  which  thy  children  have  gathered 
We  bless  thee  for  the  success  which  has  come  to  those 
who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  and  do  business  in 
great  waters.  We  thank  thee  for  the  treasures  which 
our  mining  hand  has  gathered  from  the  foldings  of  the 
earth,  the  wealth  which  we  have  quarried  from  the 
mountain,  or  digged  out  from  the  bosom  of  the  ground. 
And  we  bless  thee  for  the  other  harvests  which  from 
these  rude  things  the  toilsome  hand  and  the  laborious 
thought  of  men  have  created,  turning  use  into  beauty 
tJso,  and  so  adorning  and  gladdening  the  world. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  special  blessings  that  come 
near  to  us  this  day.  We  bless  thee  for  the  health  of 
our  bodies,  and  we  thank  thee  for  those  who  are  near  and 
dear  to  us ;  and  for  all  the  gladsome  gatherings  together 
which  this  day  will  bring  to  pass,  of  parents  and  their 
children,  long  severed,  or  of  the  lover  and  his  beloved, 
who  so  gladly  would  become  one.  We  bless  thee  for 
all  those  who  this  day  shall  break  their  bread  in  com- 
mon, lifting  up  their  hearts  unto  thee,  and  blessing  the 
hand  which  lengthens  out  our  days  and  keeps  the  golden 
bowl  from  breaking  at  the  fountain  ;  and  we  thank  thee 
for  those  who  in  many  a  distant  place  are  still  of  us, — 
severed  in  the  body,  but  with  us  yet  in  soul. 

We  remember  before  thee  not  only  our  families  and 


35 

our  homes,  but  likewise  the  great  country  in  which  thoa 
hast  cast  the  lines  of  our  lot.  We  thank  thee  for  its 
wide  extent,  for  the  great  riches  which  the  toil  of  man 
has  here  gathered  together  and  stored  up.  We  bless 
thee  for  the  multitudes  of  people,  an  exceeding  great 
company  of  men  and  women,  who  here  have  sprung 
into  existence  under  thy  care.  We  bless  thee  that  in 
this  land  the  exile  from  so  many  a  clime  can  find  a 
home,  with  none  to  molest  nor  to  make  him  afraid. 
We  thank  thee  for  every  good  institution  which  has 
here  been  established,  for  all  the  truth  that  is  taught  in 
fhe  church,  for  what  of  justice  has  become  the  common 
luw  of  the  people,  and  for  all  of  righteousness  and 
rf  benevolence  which  goes  forth  in  the  midst  of  our 
knd. 

We  bless  thee  for  our  fathers  who  in  centuries  past, 
ia  the  name  of  thy  holy  spirit,  and  for  the  sake  of 
lights  dearest  to  mankind,  went  from  one  country  to 
another  people,  and  in  their  day  of  small  things  cam  i 
here.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  for  those  whose  only  com 
niunion  was  an  exile,  and  we  bless  thee  for  the  bravery 
of  their  spirit  which  would  not  hang  the  harp  on  the 
willow,  but  sung  songs  of  thanksgiving  in  a  strange  land, 
and  in  the  midst  of  their  wilderness  builded  a  new  Zion 
up,  full  of  thanksgiving  and  song  and  praise. 

We  bless  thee  for  our. fathers  of  a  nearer  kin,  who 
in  a  day  of  peril  strove  valiantly  that  they  might  be 
free,  and  bequeathed  a  noble  heritage  to  their  sons  and 
daughters  who  were  to  come  after  them.  Yea,  we 


36 

thank  thee  for  those  whose  sacrament  was  only  a  rev« 
olution,  and  the  cup  of  blessing  was  of  blood  drawn 
from  their  own  manly  veins  ;  and  we  bless  thee  for  the 
hardy  valor  which  drew  their  sword,  and  sheathed  it 
not  till  they  had  a  large  place,  and  their  inalienable 
rights  secured  to  them  by  their  own  right  hand,  toiling 
and  striving  under  the  benediction  of  thy  precious  prov- 
idence. Now,  Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  the  few  have 
become  a  multitude,  and  the  little  vine  which  our  fa- 
thers planted  with  their  tears  and  watered  with  their 
blood,  reaches  from  sea  to  sea,  great  clusters  of  riches 
hanging  on  every  bough,  and  its  root  strong  in  the 
land. 

But  we  remember  before  thee  the  great  sins  which 
this  nation  has  wrought,  and  while  we  thank  thee  foi 
the  noblest  heritage  which  man  ever  inherited  from 
man,  we  must  mourn  also  that  we  have  blackened  th< 
ground  with  crimes  such  as  seldom  a  nation  has  com 
mitted  against  thee.  Yea,  Lord,  even  our  thanksgiving 
prayer  must  be  stained  with  our  tears  of  mourning,  and 
our  psalm  of  thanksgiving  must  be  mingled  with  tho 
wail  of  those  who  lament  that  they  have  no  hope  left 
for  them  in  the  earth.  Father,  we  remember  our 
brothers  of  our  own  kin  and  complexion  whom  wicked- 
ness has  smitten  down  in  another  land,  whose  houses 
are  burned  and  their  wives  given  up  to  outrage.  We 
remember  those  who  walk  only  in  chains  this  day,  and 
are  persecuted  for  their  righteousness'  sake.  And  still 
more  in  our  prayer  we  remember  the  millions  of  our 


37 

brothers  whom  our  fathers  chained,  and  whose  fetters 
our  wicked  hands  have  riveted  upon  their  limbs.  0 
Lord,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  suffer  from  these  our 
transgressions,  till  we  learn  to  eschew  evil,  to  break 
the  rod  of  the  oppressor,  *.a  1  to  let  the  oppressed  go 
fi-ee;  yea,  till  we  make  our  rulers  righteousness,  and 
those  chief  amongst  us  whose  glory  it  is  to  serve  man 
kind  by  justice,  by  fidelity,  and  by  truth. 

We  pray  thee,  on  this  day  of  our  gratitude,  that  we 
may  rouse  up  everything  that  is  humanest  in  our  heart 
pledging  ourselves  anew  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy 
and  to  walk  humbly  before  thee,  O  Thou  our  Father 
and  our  Mother  on  earth  and  in  the  heavens  too. 
Thus,  Lord,  may  our  thanksgiving  be  worthy  of  the 
nature  thou  hast  given  us  and  the  heritage  thou  hast 
bequeathed.  Thus  may  our  psalm  of  gratitude  be  a 
hymn  of  thanksgiving  for  millions  who  have  broken 
off  their  chains,  and  for  a  great  country  full  of  joy,  of 
blessedness,  of  freedom  and  of  peace.  So  may  thy 
kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is 
in  heaven. 


38 


IX. 

DECEMBER  28,  1856. 

OTHOU  Infinite  One,  who  fillest  the  ground  under 
our  feet  and  the  heavens  over  our  head,  whither 
shall  we  go  from  thy  spirit  or  whither  shall  we 
flee  from  thy  presence  ?     If  we  take  the  wings  of  the 
morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea, 
even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  us,  and  thy  right  hand 
shall  hold  us  up.     If  we  say,  Surely  the  darkness  shall 
cover  us,  even  the  darkness  shall  be  light  about  us ; 
yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee,  but  the  darkness 
and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee. 

Father,  we  know  that  at  all  times  and  in  every  place 
thou  wilt  remember  us,  nor  askest  thou  the  persuasive 
music  of  our  morning  hymn,  nor  our  prayer's  poor 
utterance,  to  stir  thy  loving-kindness  towards  us ;  for 
thou  carest  for  us  when  sleep  has  sealed  our  senses  up 
and  we  heed  thee  no  more  ;  yea,  when  enveloped  in 
the  smoke  of  human  ignorance  or  of  folly,  thine  eye  is 
still  upon  us,  thou  understandest  our  needs,  and  doest 
for  us  more  and  better  than  we  are  able  to  ask,  or  even 
to  think.  But  in  our  feebleness  and  our  darkness,  we 
love  to  flee  unto  thee,  who  art  the  light  of  all  our  being, 


39 

the  strength  of  all  which  is  strong,  the  wisdom  of  what 
is  wise,  and  the  foundation  of  all  things  that  are ;  and 
while  we  lift  up  our  prayer  of  aspiration  unto  thee,  and 
muse  on  thy  presence  with  us,  and  the  various  events 
of  our  life,  the  fire  of  devotion  must  needs  flame  in  our 
heart,  and  gratitude  dwell  on  our  tongue. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  world  about  us  and 
above  and  beneath.  We  bless  thee  for  the  austere 
loveliness  of  the  wintry  heavens,  for  those  fixed  or 
wandering  fires  which  lend  their  splendor  to  the  night,  for 
the  fringe  of  beauty  wherewith  thou  borderest  the  morn- 
ing and  the  evening  sky,  and  for  this  daily  sun  sending 
his  roseate  flush  of  light  across  the  white  and  wintry 
world.  We  thank  thee  for  all  the  things  that  are 
i  indly  to  our  flesh,  which  our  toil  has  won  from  out 
t'he  brute  material  world. 

We  bless  thee  for  all  the  favorable  things  that  are 
about  us ;  for  those  near  and  dear  to  us,  whom  we 
watch  over,  and  those  who  long  since  watched  over 
and  blessed  us.  We  thank  thee  for  wise  words  spoken 
to  us  in  our  childhood  or  our  youth,  for  the  examples 
of  virtue  which  were  round  us,  and  for  the  tender  voice 
which  spoke  to  our  spirit  in  early  days,  and  wakened 
in  us  a  sense  of  reverence,  of  love  and  of  trust  in  thy 
spirit.  We  thank  thee  for  the  fathers  and  mothers 
who  bore  us,  for  the  kinsfolk,  the  friends,  the  acquaint- 
ance, and  the  teachers,  who  brought  us  reverently  up ; 
for  all  the  self-denial  which  watched  over  our  cradles, 
which  held  our  head  when  our  heart  was  sick,  shelter- 


40 

ing  us  from  the  world's  hardness,  holding  up  our  child- 
ish hands  when  they  hung  down,  and  guiding  our 
tottering  footsteps  when  we  ran  giddy  in  the  paths  of 
youth.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  for  all  the  examples  of 
excellence,  the  words  of  kindly  remonstrance  and  virtu- 
ous leading,  which  have  been  a  lamp  to  our  path,  show- 
ing us  the  way  in  which  we  should  go. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  institutions  which  have 
come  down  to  us ;  for  the  church,  with  its  many  words 
of  truth  and  its  recollections  of  ancient  piety ;  for  the 
state,  with  its  wise  laws ;  for  the  community,  which 
puts  its  social  hospitable  walls  about  us  from  the  day 
of  our  birth  till  we  are  cradled  again,  in  our  coffin,  and 
the  sides  of  the  pit  are  sweet  to  our  crumbling  flesh. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  ages  that  are  past  and 
gone,  and  thank  thee  for  the  great  men  whom  thou 
causedst  to  spring  up  in  those  days,  great  flowers  of 
humanity,  whose  seeds  have  been  scattered  broadcast 
along  the  world,  making  the  solitary  place  into  a  garden 
and  the  wilderness  to  blossom  like  a  rose.  We  bless 
thee  for  the  great  men  who  founded  the  state,  and  for 
the  inventors  of  useful  things,  large-minded  men  who 
thought  out  true  ideas,  and  skilful-handed  folk  who 
made  their  lofty  thought  an  exceeding  useful  thing. 
We  thank  thee  for  those  strong  men  of  science  in 
whose  hands  the  ark  of  truth  has  been  borne  ever 
onward  from  age  to  age,  for  poets  and  philosophers 
whose  deep  vision  beheld  the  truth  when  other  men 
perceived  it  not,  and  for  those  gifted  women  whose  pre 


41 

sentient  soul  ran  before  the  mighty  prophet's  thought- 
ful eye,  forefeeling  light  when  yet  the  very  East  was 
dark  with  night.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  for  the  goodly 
fellowship  of  all  these  prophets  of  glory,  the  glorious 
company  of  such  apostles,  and  the  noble  army  of  mar- 
tyrs, who  were  faithful  even  unto  death. 

Chiefliest  of  all  do  we  bless  thee  for  that  noble  son 
of  thine,  born  of  a  peasant  mother  and  a  peasant  sire, 
who  in  days  of  great  darkness  went  before  men,  his  life 
a  pillar  of  fire  leading  them  unto  marvellous  light  and 
peace  and  beauty.  We  thank  thee  for  his  words,  so 
lustrous  with  truth,  for  his  life,  fragrant  all  through 
with  piety  and  benevolence ;  yea,  Lord,  we  bless  thee 
for  the  death  which  sinful  hands  nailed  into  his  lacerated 
flesh,  where  through  the  wounds  the  spirit  escaped  tri 
umphant  unto  thee,  and  could  not  be  holden  of  mortal 
death.  We  thank  thee  for  the  triumphs  which  attend 
that  name  of  Jesus,  for  the  dear  blessedness  which  his 
life  has  bestowed  upon  us,  smoothing  the  pathway  of 
toil,  softening  the  pillow  of  distress,  and  brightening 
the  way  whereon  truth  comes  down  from  thee,  and 
life  to  thee  goes  ever  ascending  up.  Father,  we  thank 
thee  for  the  blessings  which  this  great  noble  soul  has 
widely  scattered  throughout  the  world,  and  most  of  all 
for  this,  that  his  spark  of  fire  has  revealed  to  us  thine 
own  divinity  enlivening  this  mortal  human  clod,  and 
prophesying  such  noble  future  of  achievement  here  on 
earth  and  in  thine  own  kingdom  of  heaven  with  thee. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  also  for  the  unmentioned 


42 

tyrs,  for  the  glorious  company  of  prophets  whom  history 
makes  no  written  record  of,  but  whose  words  and  whose 
lives  are  garnered  up  in  the  great  life  of  humanity. 

O  Lord  we  bless  thee  for  all  these,  and,  in  our  own 
day,  when  thou  hast  given  us  so  many  talents  and  the 
opportunity  so  glorious  for  their  use,  we  pray  thee  that 
we  may  distinguish  between  the  doctrines  of  men  and 
thine  eternal  commandments,  and  that  no  reverence  for 
the  old  may  blind  our  eyes  to  evils  that  have  come 
down  from  other  days,  and  no  fondness  for  new  things 
ever  lead  us  to  grasp  the  hidden  evil  when  we  take  the 
epecious  good  ;  but  may  we  separate  between  the  right 
and  the  wrong,  and  choose  those  things  that  are  wise  to 
direct,  and  profitable  for  our  daily  use.  O  Lord,  when 
we  compare  our  own  poor  lives  with  the  ideal  germ 
which  warms  in  our  innermost  soul,  longing  to  be  itself 
a  strong  and  flame-like  flower,  we  are  ashamed  that 
our  lives  are  no  better,  and  we  pray  thee  that  in  time 
present  and  in  all  time  to  come  we  may  summon  up 
the  vigor  of  our  spirit,  and  strive  to  live  lives  of 
such  greatness  and  nobleness  that  we  shall  bless  our 
children  and  all  who  come  after  us,  giving  them 
better  institutions  than  ourselves  have  received,  and 
bequeathing  to  them  a  more  glorious  character  than 
was  transmitted  to  us.  May  we  cultivate  every  noble 
faculty  of  our  nature,  giving  to  every  limb  of  the  body 
its  proper  place  and  enjoyment,  and  over  all  the  hum- 
bler faculties  may  we  enthrone  the  great  commanding 
powers,  which  shall  rule  and  regulate  our  life  into  order 


43 

and  strength  and  beauty,  and  fill  our  souls  with  the 
manifold  delight  of  those  who  know  thee  and  serve 
thee  and  love  thee  with  all  their  understanding  and  all 
their  heart. 

In  the  stern  duties  which  are  before  us,  Father  in 
heaven,  may  thy  light  burn  »,lear  in  our  tabernacle,  and 
when  thou  callest  us  may  our  lamps  be  trimmed  and 
burning,  our  loins  girt  about,  our  feet  ready  sandaled 
for  the  road,  and  our  souls  prepared  for  thee.  Thus 
may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 


44 


JANUARY   11,  1857. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  art  present  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together,  and  who  with 
all  thine  infinite  perfections  encarnpest  about  each 
solitary  soul,  we  would  draw  near  unto  thee,  who  art 
never  far  from  any  one  of  us,  and  in  thy  presence  gird 
up  our  souls  and  worship  thee  with  such  communion 
and  income  of  spirit  in  our  morning  prayer  that  w-e 
shall  serve  thee  all  our  life,  bearing  with  patience  our 
daily  cross,  and  reverently  doing  with  strength  th«» 
duties  thou  givest  us  to  do.  May  we  worship  thee 
who  art  Spirit,  with  our  spirit  and  the  truth  of  every 
faculty  ;  and  wilt  thou,  who  seekest  such  to  worship 
thee,  accept  the  psalm  of  our  lips  and  the  aspiring  of 
our  heart. 

0  Thou  Infinite  One,  we  thank  thee  for  the  winter 
with  which  thou  hast  overcast  the  world,  for  we  know 
that  in  every  flake  of  snow  thou  sheddest  from  the 
Leavens  thou  hast  a  benediction  writ  for  all  mankind, 
could  our  eyes  but  read  the  lustrous  prophecy  so  curi- 
ously announced. 

We  thank  thee  that  thou  givest  to  mankind,  in  our 


45 

body  and  in  our  soul,  the  power  over  these  material 
things  that  are  about  us.  We  thank  thee  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  winter's  snow  we  can  build  us  our  pleas- 
ant habitation,  and  have  a  perennial  summer  all  safe 
from  winter's  desolating  frost.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
large  power  thou  hast  given  us  to  make  even  the  storms 
serve  the  voyage  of  our  life,  and  to  use  the  very  ice 
of  Northern  realms  as  the  servant  of  man's  pleasure 
and  the  handmaid  of  his  health.  Father,  we  bless  thee 
for  the  wondrous  faculties  which  thou  hast  treasured  up 
within  the  frame  of  man. 

We  bless  thee  for  all  periods  in  our  life.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  infancy,  which  is  from  thine  own  kingdom 
of  heaven,  cradled  in  love  on  earth,  the  little  flower 
prophetic  of  other  love  that  is  to  come,  given  not  less 
than  received,  in  the  never-ending  progress  of  the  im- 
mortal soul.  We  thank  thee  for  the  period  of  the 
young  man's  and  the  young  woman's  life,  when  the 
body,  unwonted  to  the  experience  of  the  world,  rum 
over  with  the  vernal  energies  of  life's  incipient  year 
We  thank  thee  for  the  energy  of  passion,  and  the 
power  of  soul  which  thou  givest  us  to  tame  this  crea- 
ture into  wise  and  virtuous  strength.  We  bless  thee 
for  the  high  hopes,  the  generous  aspirations,  and  the 
quick  and  mounting  instincts  of  the  soul,  which  belong 
to  the  young  man's  life.  We  bless  thee  for  the  har- 
dier vigor  of  the  middle-aged,  whom  experience  has 
made  more  wise,  and  we  thank  thee  that  frequent 
stumbling  bids  us  take  heed  to  our  ways,  and  by 


46 

many  a  failure  and  fall  mankind  is  warned  of  the 
difficulties  that  beset  his  path.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  mighty  power  of  will  that  can  restrain  passion  in 
its  instinctive  swing,  and  hold  ambition  from  its  wicked 
aim,  which  else  might  mar  and  desolate  the  soul.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  yet  later  period,  when  thou  crown- 
est  the  experienced  head  with  silver  hairs  without,  and 
within  hivest  up  the  manifold  treasures  of  long-con- 
tinued life.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  instinctive 
power  of  the  young,  the  sober  calculating  strength  of 
the  middle-aged,  and  the  long-treasured  glories  of  old 
men,  found  in  the  paths  of  righteousness,  whose  head 
in  a  lamp  of  white  fire  carried  before  us  to  warn  us  of 
the  wrong,  and  to  guide  thy  children  to  ever-increas- 
ing heights  of  human  excellence. 

O  Lord,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  all  of  us  use  so 
nobly  the  nature  thou  hast  given  us,  that  in  early,  or 
in  middle,  or  in  advanced  life,  there  may  be  such  a 
strength  of  pious  trust  in  thee  as  shall  give  thy  chil- 
dren the  victory  in  the  day  of  their  youth,  and  they 
may  overcome  the  passions  which  else  would  war 
against  the  soul ;  and,  in  the  middle  way  of  mortal 
life,  may  it  abate  the  excessive  zeal  of  ambitious  self- 
ishness, and  bring  down  all  covetousness  and  every 
proud  thing  that  unduly  exalts  itself  against  thee  ;  and 
in  the  later  days  of  mankind,  may  it  be  a  strong  staff 
in  the  old  man's  hand,  and  a  lamp  full  of  heavenly 
fire  which  goes  before  his  experienced  feet,  guiding 
him  still  farther  forward,  still  higher  upward,  and 


47 

leading  to  serene  and  blameless  abodes  of  beauty  and 
of  oneness  with  thee. 

O  Thou  Infinite  One,  we  thank  thee  for  the  oppor- 
tunities of  our  daily  life.  And  for  its  trials,  shall  we 
not  thank  thee  ?  If  in  ojl  feebleness  we  dare  not 
thank  thee  for  the  crosses  that  are  laid  on  us  and  the 
disappointments  which  vex  our  mortal  affections,  still, 
O  Lord,  we  will  bow  our  faces  before  thee,  and  with 
thankful  hearts  exclaim,  The  Lord  giveth,  let  Him  take 
away  when  he  will. 

Father,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  live  so  generous 
and  aspire  so  high  that  our  noblest  prayer  shall  be 
the  practice  of  our  daily  life,  and  so  by  continual  as- 
cension we  shall  rise  up  towards  thee,  enriched  from 
thy  fulness  of  joy,  and  the  gladness  and  peace  which 
thou  givest,  with  no  miracle,  to  every  earnest  and  as- 
piring child  of  thine.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


18 


XL 

JANUARY  18,1857. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Presence,  who  art  close  to  each 
of  us,  we  would  draw  near  to  thee,  and  lift  up 
our  souls  unto  thee,  who  art  to  be  worshipped 
in  spirit  and  in  truth.  O  Lord,  whither  shall  we  flee 
from  thy  spirit,  or  whither  shall  we  go  from  thy  pres- 
ence ?  In  the  beauty  of  summer  thou  wert  with  us, 
and  out  of  genial  skies  sent  down  thy  sweet  beatitude 
of  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy,  and  in  the  inidsi 
of  winter  thou  art  with  us  still,  in  the  ground  under 
our  feet  and  the  heavens  above  our  head,  and  thine 
exceeding  precious  providence  tempers  even  the  aus- 
terity of  the  season  for  the  world's  great  wants. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all  the  periods  of  our 
earthly  life.  We  bless  thee  that  we  are  born  of  thy 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  come  into  this  world,  darting 
before  us  the  prophetic  rays  of  noble  growth  ir  times 
that  are  to  come.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  that  from 
this  morning  dawn  of  infancy  there  goes  out  so  fair 
and  glorious  a  light,  adorning  the  little  home,  and 
shedding  its  splendor  far  up  the  sky,  leading  the  pa- 
rental vision  farther  and  farther  on.  We  bless  thee 


49 

for  the  young  men  and  women,  and  the  middle-aged 
for  their  stalwart  strength  of  body  and  mind,  then 
vigorous  hope,  and  their  power  to  do,  to  he,  and  to 
suffer,  and  to  grow  greater  and  greater.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  duties  which  thou  givest  thy  children  to 
do,  and  the  strength  with  which  thou  girdest  their 
loins,  and  the  power  with  which  thou  anointest  their 
heads.  We  remember  before  thee  the  venerable  face 
and  the  hoary  hairs,  which  thou  givest  as  the  crown 
of  life  to  those  who  pass  on  in  the  journey  of  time, 
doing  its  duties,  bearing  its  cross,  and  tasting  its  cup 
of  joy  and  of  grief.  We  thank  thee  for  the  strong 
beauty  of  venerable  age  when  it  is  found  in  the  way 
of  righteousness,  and  the  firm  and  manly  form  goes 
before  mankind,  with  the  light  of  righteousness  shin- 
ing white  and  beauteous  from  the  aged  head. 

O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  the  blessed  light  of  im- 
mortality which  thou  sheddest  down  on  all  the  periods 
of  human  life,  shining  in  its  morning  freshness  on  the 
baby's  cradle,  tending  in  its  meridian  march  the  prog- 
ress of  the  grown  man,  and  for  the  evening  brilliancy, 
the  many-colored  rays  of  hope  and  beauty,  where- 
with it  silvers  the  countenance  of  the  old  man.  O 
Lord,  when  thou  takest  to  thyself,  out  of  the  midst 
of  us,  the  young,  the  middle-aged,  or  those  venerable 
with  accumulated  time  and  manifold  righteousness,  we 
thank  thee  that  we  know  they  but  rest  from  their 
labors,  and  their  good  works,  gathered  up  in  their 
character,  follow  them,  and  shine  with  them  as  a  rai- 
4 


50 

ment  of  glory  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  brightening 
and  brightening  forever  and  forever,  unto  still  more 
perfect  day. 

O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  our  fathers  who  brought 
us  up,  who  have  gone  before  us  and  blessed  us  with 
manifold  kindness  and  tenderness ;  and  we  bless  thee 
also  for  the  mothers  who  bore  and  carefully  tended  us, 
and  watched  over  our  little  heads,  and  trained  our 
infantile  feet  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  pleasantness  and 
in  the  paths  of  peace. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  nature  which  thou  hast 
given  to  woman,  for  the  various  faculties  wherein  she 
differs  from  man,  for  her  transcendent  mind  which  an- 
ticipates his  slower  thought.  We  bless  thee  for  her 
generous  instincts  of  morality,  of  loving-kindness  and 
tender  mercy,  and  that  deep  religious  power  of  intui- 
tion whereby  she  communes  with  thy  spirit  face  to 
face,  and  knows  thee  and  loves  thee  with  an  exceed- 
ing depth  of  noble  heart.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
great  and  lustrous  women  of  other  times  and  our  own 
age,  who  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  thy  spirit,  or 
who,  with  lives  more  eloquent  than  speech,  ran  before 
the  world's  great  prophets  and  redeemers,  smoothing 
the  pathway  which  rougher  feet  were  yet  to  tread,  and 
shedding  the  balsam  of  their  benediction  on  the  air 
which  mankind  was  to  breathe.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  noble  and  generous  women  in  our  own  day,  en- 
gaged in  the  various  callings  and  lots  of  human  life. 
We  thank  thee  for  those  who  relieve  the  sick,  who 


51 

recall  the  wandering  from  the  way  of  wickedness, 
who  smooth  the  pillow  of  suffering,  who  teach  and 
instruct  those  that  are  ignorant,  who  lift  up  such  as 
are  fallen  down,  and  overtake  the  aged  or  the  ju- 
venile wanderers  who  are  outcasts  from  the  world. 
Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all  these  blessings  which 
thou  givest  to  the  world  in  this  portion  of  humanity. 

We  bless  thee  for  those  noble  and  generous  emo- 
tions which  thou  hast  placed  within  the  soul  of  man, 
for  the  continual  progress  which  they  are  making, 
and  the  certainty  of  their  triumph  at  last  over  all 
malice  and  wrath  and  hate  and  everything  which 
makes  war  on  the  earth.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
far-reaching  love  that  goes  out  towards  those  who 
need  the  assistance  of  our  arm,  and  for  that  feeling, 
stronger  than  the  earthly  interests  of  the  body,  which 
leads  us  to  forgive  every  wrong  which  our  brothers 
trespass  against  us. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  religious  faculty  which  thou 
hast  placed  here  within  us,  that  in  our  darkness  it 
gives  us  something  of  morning  light,  and,  when  other 
things  fail  and  pass  away,  it  breaks  through  the  clouds, 
and  looks  up  to  thine  own  kingdom  of  eternal  peace, 
and  there  finds  comfort  and  rest  for  the  soul.  O  Lord, 
we  thank  thee  that  thereby  thou  art  to  us  exceeding 
near,  strengthening  us  in  our  weakness,  enlightening 
in  our  ignorance,  warning  in  temptation ;  and,  when 
we  go  stooping  and  feeble,  our  faces  bowed  down  with 
sorrow,  we  thank  thee  that  in  the  midst  of  this  outer 


52 

darkness,  in  our  heart  it  is  all  full  of  glorious  light, 
and  thy  presence  is  there,  and  thy  peace  is  spread 
abroad  on  the  afflicted  and  mourning  one. 

Father,  when  thou  gatherest  to  thyself  those  who 
are  of  our  earthly  family,  changing  their  countenance 
and  taking  them  away  from  our  arms,  if  we  are  not 
strong  enough  to  thank  thee  for  all  the  angels  which 
descend  and  come  into  our  house  and  bear  away  thence 
those  whom  our  hearts  most  tenderly  do  love,  still  we 
thank  thee  that  we  know  it  is  thine  angel  which  comes, 
and  thou  sendest  him  here  on  an  errand  of  mercy,  and 
we  thank  thee  that  our  soul  can  follow  along  the  lu- 
minous track  which  the  fiery  chariot  of  Death  has  left 
?  ehind,  and  our  eye  can  rest  on  the  spiritual  form  now 
•<  lothed  with  immortality,  and  dearer  to  us  still  than 
when  on  earth.  We  thank  thee  that  through  all  the 
clouds  of  grief  and  sorrow  thy  holy  ghost  comes  down 
with  quickening  influence,  bringing  healing  on  his 
wings,  and  shedding  abroad  the  glorious  sacrament 
of  consolation  on  eyes  that  weep,  and  stealing  into  the 
most  secret  heart  that  mourns. 

Father,  we  remember  before  thee  those  who  are 
needy,  who  in  this  inclement  season  of  the  year  are 
pinched  with  cold,  whom  hunger  looks  sternly  in  the 
face,  and  we  pray  thee  that  our  own  hearts  may  be 
opened  to  do  good  and  to  communicate  to  those  who 
need  our  service,  and  whom  our  alms-giving  may 
doubly  bless. 

Help  us,  O  Thou  Infinite  Father,  to  use  the  nature 


thou  hast  given  us  wisely  and  well.  We  would  not 
ask  thee  to  change  thy  law,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever,  but  pray  that  ourselves  may  accord  our 
disposition?  to  thine  own  infinite  excellence,  and  order 
the  outgoings  and  incomings  of  our  heart  in  such  wis- 
dom that  our  lives  shall  continually  be  in  accordance 
•with  thy  life,  that  thy  will  shall  be  the  law  of  our 
spirits,  and  thy  love  prevail  forever  in  our  hearts. 
So  may  we  be  adorned  and  strengthened  with  mani- 
fold righteousness,  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  run 
and  not  be  weary,  or  walk  and  never  faint.  So  may 
thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  u 
it,  is  in  heaven. 


XII. 

FEBRUARY  22,  1857. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  thyself  art  perpetual 
presentness,  whom  heaven  and  the  heaven  of 
heavens  cannot  contain,  but  who  hast  thy  dwell- 
ing-place in  every  little  flower  that  blooms,  and  JL 
every  humble  heart,  —  we  would  draw  near  unto  thee, 
and  worship  in  thy  presence,  with  such  lifting  up  of  our 
heart  and  our  soul  that  all  our  daily  lives  may  be  a 
continual  service  before  thee,  and  all  our  days  thy  days. 
We  know  that  thou  needest  not  to  be  worshipped,  nor 
askest  our  prayer's  poor  homage  at  our  lips  ;  but,  con- 
scious of  our  dependence  on  thee,  feeling  our  weakness 
and  our  ignorance,  and  remembering  the  blessings  with 
which  thou  fillest  our  cup,  we  flee  unto  thee,  and  would 
pour  forth  the  psalm  of  our  morning  prayer,  that  we 
may  be  strengthened  and  blessed  by  the  great  religious 
emotions  which  raise  us  up  to  thee. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  exceeding  beauty  of 
this  wintry  day,  we  bless  thee  for  the  ever-welcome 
countenance  of  the  sun,  so  sweetly  looking  down  upon 
our  Northern  land,  and  bidding  Winter  flee.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  moon  which  scarfs  with  loveliness  the  re- 


oo 

treating  shoulders  of  the  night,  and  for  all  the  won- 
drous majesty  of  stars  wherewith  thou  hast  spangled 
the  raiment  of  darkness,  giving  beauty  to  the  world 
when  the  sun  withdraws  his  light. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all  thy  precious  providence 
which  rules  over  the  summer  and  the  winter,  the  spring 
and  the  autumn,  beautifying  this  various  and  fourfold 
year.  "We  thank  thee  that  thy  spirit  is  with  us  even 
in  the  darkness,  which  is  no  darkness  with  thee,  but 
under  thy  care  we  can  lay  us  down  and  sleep  in  safety, 
—  thou  giving  to  thy  beloved  even  in  our  sleep  —  and 
when  we  awake  we  are  still  with  thee. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  great  land  in  which  we  live ; 
we  bless  thee  for  its  favored  situation,  and  its  wide 
spread  from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  lake  to  gulf.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  millions  of  people  who  have  grown 
up  here  in  the  midst  of  the  continent.  We  bless  thee 
for  all  the  good  institutions  which  are  established  here ; 
we  thank  thee  for  whatsoever  of  justice  is  made  into 
law  of  the  state,  for  all  of  piety,  of  loving-kindness 
and  tender  mercy  which  are  taught  in  many  a  various 
church,  and  practised  by  noble  women  and  earnest 
men. 

We  bless  thee  for  our  fathers,  who  in  their  day  of 
small  things  put  their  confidence  in  thee,  and  went  from 
one  kingdom  to  another  people,  few  and  strangers  there, 
and  at  last,  guided  by  a  religious  star,  came  to  this  land, 
and  put  up  their  prayers  in  a  wilderness.  We  thank 
thee  that  the  desert  place  has  become  a  garden,  and  the 


56 

wild  forest,  full  of  beasts  and  prowling  men,  is  tenanted 
now  with  cities  and  beautiful  with  towns.  We  bless 
thee  for  the  great  men  whom  thou  gavest  us  at  every 
period  of  our  nation's  story ;  we  thank  thee  for  such  as 
were  wise  in  council,  those  also  who  were  valiant  in 
fight,  and  by  whose  right  arm  our  redemption  was 
wrought  out.  We  thank  thee  for  those  noblest  men 
and  women  who  were  filled  with  justice,  with  benevo- 
lence and  with  piety,  and  who  sought  to  make  thy  con- 
stitution of  the  universe  the  common  law  of  all  man- 
kind. We  bless  thee  for  those  whose  names  have  gone 
abroad  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  encourage 
men  in  righteousness  and  to  turn  many  from  the  evil 
of  their  ways. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  unbounded  wealth  which  has 
been  gathered  from  our  fields,  or  drawn  from  the  sea, 
or  digged  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  wrought 
out  in  our  manifold  places  of  toil  throughout  the  land. 
We  bless  thee  for  the  schools  which  let  light  in  on 
many  a  dark  and  barren  place ;  and  we  thank  thee  for 
noble  and  generous  men  and  women  in  our  own  day 
who  speak  as  they  are  moved  by  thy  holy  spirit,  and 
turn  many  unto  righteousness. 

But  we  mourn  over  the  wickedness  that  is  still  so 
common  in  our  land  ;  we  lament  at  the  folly  and  the 
sin  of  those  in  high  place,  and  the  others  who  seek 
high  place ;  we  lament  that  they  tread  thy  people  down, 
and  bear  a  false  witness  in  the  land.  We  thank  thee 
that  the  world's  exiles  find  here  a  shelter  and  a  home, 


57 

with  none  to  molest  nor  make  them  afraid ;  but  wo 
mourn  also  that  the  world's  saddest  exiles  are  still  our 
own  persecuted  and  afflicted  and  smitten.  We  remem- 
ber before  thee  the  millions  of  men  whose  hands  are 
chained  that  they  may  not  lift  them  up,  and  whose  in- 
tellect and  conscience  the  wicked  statutes  of  men  still 
keep  in  Egyptian  night.  O  Lord,  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  suffer  for  all  the  wickedness  that  we  commit,  till 
we  learn  to  turn  off  from  the  evil  of  our  ways,  and  exe- 
cute thy  commandments,  and  follow  after  the  righteous- 
ness which  thou  hast  written  in  our  heart.  We  pray 
thee  that  thou  wilt  chastise  us  in  our  property  and  in 
our  lives,  till  we  learn  to  put  away  from  the  midst  of 
us  the  yoke  of  bondage,  and  to  smite  no  longer  with 
the  fist  of  wickedness. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  own  private  lives,  the 
joys  thou  givest  us,  our  daily  bread  and  our  nightly 
sleep,  the  strength  of  our  bodies,  so  wonderfully  made, 
and  the  vigor  and  hope  of  our  intellect,  conquering  the 
world ;  yea,  we  thank  thee  for  the  affections  which  join 
us  together,  and  the  soul  which  unites  us  to  thee.  We 
remember  before  thee  the  duties  thou  givest  us  to  do, 
and  we  will  not  ask  thee  to  do  our  work,  wherefor  thou 
hast  given  us  sufficient  strength  ;  but  we  pray  thee  that 
with  rnanly  and  womanly  might  we  may  exercise  the 
faculties  thou  hast  given  us,  and  do  our  work  whilst  it 
is  yet  called  day.  May  there  be  in  us  such  a  rever- 
ence for  thy  being  and  those  qualities  which  are  thy- 
self, that  every  day  we  shall  serve  thee  with  blameless 


58 

fidelity,  and  grow  constantly  in  grace,  attaining  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  a  perfect 
man.  When  we  turn  from  thy  ways,  and,  bleeding, 
come  back  again,  may  we  be  taught  thereby  to  wander 
no  more  from  the  paths  of  righteousness,  but  ever  to 
journey  in  those  ways  which  are  pleasantness  and  lead 
to  peace.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


59 

XIII. 

MARCH  15,  1857. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Power,  whom  men  call  by  vary- 
ing names,  but  whose  grandeur  and  whose  love 
no  name  expresses  and  no  words  can  tell ;  0 
Thou  Creative  Cause  of  all,  Conserving  Providence  to 
each,  we  flee  unto  thee,  and  would  seek  for  a  moment 
to  be  conscious  of  the  sunlight  of  thy  presence,  that  we 
may  lift  up  our  souls  unto  thee,  and  fill  ourselves  with 
exceeding  comfort  and  surpassing  strength.  We  know 
that  thou  wilt  draw  near  unto  us  when  we  also  draw 
near  unto  thee.  Father,  we  thank  thee  that  while 
heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain 
thine  all-transcendent  being,  yet  thou  livest  and  mov- 
est  and  workest  in  all  things  that  are,  causing,  guiding 
and  blessing  all  and  each. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  lovely  day  which  thou  pourest 
down  on  the  expecting  world,  giving  the  hills  and  the 
valleys  a  foretaste  of  the  spring  that  is  to  come.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  glories  thou  revealest  to  the  world 
in  darkness,  where  star  after  star  travels  in  its  far 
course,  or  to  the  human  eye  is  ever  fixed,  and  all  of 
these  speak  continually  of  thy  wisdom  and  thy  glory, 
and  shine  by  thy  love's  exceeding,  never-ending  light 


60 

We  bless  thee  for  the  love  which  thou  bearest  to  all 
the  creatures  which  thou  hast  made.  We  thank  thee 
that  we  know  that  thou  art  our  Father  and  our  Mother, 
and  tenderly  watchest  over  us  in  manifold  and  secret 
ways,  bringing  good  out  of  evil,  and  better  thence 
again,  leading  forward  thy  child  from  babyhood  to 
manhood,  and  the  human  race  from  its  wild  estate  to 
far  transcending  nobleness  of  soul. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  vast  progress  which 
mankind  has  made  in  the  ages  that  are  behind  us.  We 
bless  thee  that  truth  is  stronger  than  error,  and  justice 
breaks  down  every  throne  of  unrighteousness,  and  the 
gentleness  of  love  is  far  stronger  than  all  the  energy  of 
wrath,  and  so  from  age  to  age  gains  the  victory  over 
the  savage  instincts  of  wild  men. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  great  men  and  women  whom 
thou  in  all  times  hast  raised  up,  the  guides  and  teachers 
unto  humbler-gifted  men.  We  thank  thee  for  the  phi- 
losophers who  have  taught  us  truth,  and  for  the  great 
poets  who  have  touched  man's  heart  with  the  fire  of 
heaven  and  stirred  to  noble  deeps  the  human  soul.  We 
bless  thee  for  those  expounders  of  thy  law  whose  con- 
science has  revealed  thine  ever  live  ideas  of  justice, 
and  who  have  taught  them  to  men.  We  bless  thee  for 
those  warm-hearted  champions  of  mankind  whose  arms 
of  philanthropy  clasp  whole  nations  to  their  heart, 
warmed  with  the  noble  personal  life  of  such.  Yea, 
we  thank  thee  for  those  of  great  religious  sense,  who 
have  taught  mankind  truer  ideas  of  thee,  and  wisely 


61 

guided  the  souls  of  men,  thereby  controlling  passior 
and  leading  thy  children  in  paths  of  pleasantness  and 
of  peace.  We  thank  thee  that  in  no  land  hast  thou  ever 
left  thyself  without  a  witness,  and  while  material  na- 
ture proclaims  thy  glory,  and  day  unto  day  uttereth 
speech,  and  night  unto  night  showeth  forth  thy  praise, 
that  our  human  nature  still  more  largely  proclaims  thy 
greatness  and  thy  goodness,  and  the  presence  of  thy 
providence,  watching  over  all.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
goodly  fellowship  of  prophets  in  all  lands,  and  called 
by  many  names ;  for  the  glorious  company  of  apostles, 
speaking  in  every  tongue,  and  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs,  whose  blood,  reddening  the  soil  of  the  whole 
world,  has  made  it  fertile  for  noble  human  purposes. 

And,  while  we  thank  thee  for  these,  we  bless  thee 
also  for  the  unrecorded  millions  of  men  of  common 
faculties,  who  were  the  human  soil  whereon  these  trees 
of  human  genius  stood,  and  grew  their  leaves  so  shady 
and  so  green,  and  their  fruit  so  sound  and  fair.  O 
Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  the  humble  toiling  millions 
of  men  who  earnestly  looked  for  the  light,  and  finding 
walked  therein,  passing  upward  and  onward  towards 
thy  kingdom,  blessed  by  thee. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  the  triumphs  which  mankind  has 
achieved,  by  the  few  of  genius  or  the  many  who  have 
had  faithful  and  earnest  souls.  We  thank  thee  for  all 
of  truth  that  is  demonstrated  in  science,  for  all  of  beau- 
ty that  is  writ  in  poetry  or  stamped  on  the  rock  by  art. 
We  bless  thee  for  what  of  justice  is  recorded  in  books, 


62 

or  embodied  in  institutions  and  laws.  "We  thank  thee 
for  that  philanthropy  which  begins  to  bless  the  world, 
and  here  in  our  own  land  achieves  such  noble  works. 
And  we  thank  thee  for  what  we  know  of  true  religion, 
of  the  piety  that  warms  the  innermost  heart,  and  the 
morality  which  keeps  the  laws  which  thou  hast  writ. 

We  bless  thee  that  in  this  land  all  men  are  free  to 
worship  thee  as  they  will,  or  to  close  their  eyes  and 
look  not  at  thine  image,  no  human  scourge  laid  on  their 
earnest  flesh.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  great 
religious  ideas  which  have  sprung  down  from  heaven 
in  our  own  day,  unknown  to  ancient  times,  and  for  the 
light  which  they  shed  along  the  path  of  duty,  in  the  way 
even  of  transgression,  and  for  the  glorious  hope  which 
they  enkindle  everywhere. 

And  while  we  thank  thee  for  these  things,  we  pi-ay 
thee  that  we  may  walk  faithful  to  the  nature  thou  hast 
given  us  and  the  light  which  has  dawned  down  from 
heaven  all  around.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the 
power  of  gratitude  which  thou  givest  to  thy  children, 
for  the  joy  which  men  take  in  favors  received  from  the 
highest  or  the  humblest  of  the  earth,  and  the  far  ex- 
ceeding delight  which  comes  to  our  soul  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  receiving  blessings  from  thyself,  who 
givest  to  mankind  so  liberally  and  upbraidest  not,  nor 
askest  ever  for  our  gratitude,  but  still  art  kind  even  to 
unthankful  and  to  wicked  men. 

Father,  we  bless  thee  for  such  as  love  us  and  those 
whom  we  love  in  the  varying  forms  of  affection,  thank- 


63 

mg  thee  for  the  sacramental  cup  of  joy  in  which  thou 
givest  the  wine  of  life  to  all  of  thy  children,  humble  or 
high. 

Father,  when  we  suffer  in  our  hearts,  when  our 
houses  are  hung  with  blackness,  and  the  shadow  of 
death  falls  on  the  empty  seat  of  those  dear  and  once 
near  to  us,  we  know  that  there  is  mercy  in  all  that  thou 
sendest,  and  through  the  darkness  we  behold  thy  light, 
and  thank  thee  for  the  lilies  of  Solomon  that  spring 
out  of  the  ground  which  Death  has  burned  over  with 
his  blackness  and  sprinkled  with  the  ashes  of  our 
sorrow. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  various  temptations 
with  which  we  are  tried,  praying  thee  that  in  the  hour 
of  passion  the  youth  may  be  strong  and  find  himself 
a  way  of  escape  from  its  seductive  witchery ;  and  in 
the  cold  and  more  dangerous  hour  of  ambition,  when 
the  maturer  flesh  so  often  goes  astray,  we  pray  thee 
that  we  may  turn  off  from  covetousness,  from  desire  of 
power  and  vainglory  amongst  men,  and  keep  our  souls 
clean  and  undefiled  in  the  midst  of  a  world  where  sin 
and  wickedness  walk  in  the  broad  day.  Father,  within 
our  soul  may  there  be  such  an  earnest  and  strong  love 
of  the  qualities  of  thy  being  that  we  shall  keep  every 
law  which  thou  hast  writ  on  our  sense  or  in  our  soul, 
and  do  justly  and  love  mercy  and  walk  manfully  with 
thee,  doing  our  duty  with  nobleness  of  endeavor,  and 
bearing  such  cross  as  time  and  chance,  happening  to 
all,  may  lay  on  us.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and 
fjiy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


64 


XIV. 

MAY  24,  1857. 

OTHOU  Perpetual  Presence,  whom  our  hearts 
constrain  us  to  bow  down  before,  and  delighted- 
ly to  look  up  to,  we  would  draw  near  to  thee 
once  more,  secluding  our  spirits  for  a  moment  from  all 
the  noises  of  the  world,  and  continue  the  psalm  of  our 
thanksgiving  by  aspirations  of  the  soul  that  are  higher 
and  higher  yet.  We  know  that  thou  ramemberest  us, 
nor  needest  thou  the  music  of  our  psalm  nor  the  faint 
warbling  of  our  prayer  to  stir  thy  fatherly  and  mother 
ly  heart  to  bestow  upon  us  thy  tender  mercy  and  thy 
loving-kindness.  Yea,  we  know  that  when  earthly 
father  and  mother  forget  us  and  let  us  fall,  thou 
takest  us  up,  and  in  thy  right  hand  bearest  thy  chil- 
dren forward ;  nay,  when  in  the  wickedness  of  our 
heart  or  the  frailty  of  our  flesh  we  break  thy  laws 
and  would  hide  our  faces  from  thee,  thou  still  re- 
vealest  thyself  in  justice  and  in  love,  and  in  secret 
ways  overtakes!  us,  liftest  us  up  when  we  have  fallen, 
and  leadest  us  from  our  errors  and  our  sins. 

O  Thou  Infinite  One,  we  thank  thee  for  the  fairness 
and  the   beauty    which   thou    pourest  down   from    the 


65 

heavens  above  our  head.  We  bless  thee  for  the 
genial  warmth  which  goes  abroad  in  the  air  this  day 
from  the  golden  shining  of  the  sun.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  footsteps  of  Spring  throughout  our  Northern 
land,  giving  new  vigor  to  the  cattle's  grass,  and  causing 
hope  to  spring  up  with  the  farmer's  slow-ascending 
corn.  We  thank  thee  for  the  promise  of  the  season, 
hilent  or  musical,  in  all  the  tenants  of  the  sky,  and  for 
the  prophecy  which  begins  to  blossom  from  many  a 
tree,  foretelling  the  glories  of  summer,  and  the  ap- 
pointed weeks  of  harvest,  which  are  yet  to  come.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  ground  under  our  feet,  the  great 
foodful  earth,  and  the  heavens  above  our  head,  and  for 
the  whole  universe  of  worlds  which  thou  hast  created, 
and  sustainest  with  thy  presence,  filling  all  things  with 
life,  and  enchanting  the  whole  with  order  and  beauty 
and  love.  We  thank  thee  that  by  ways  which  as  yet 
we  know  not,  thou  bringest  many  things  to  pass,  and 
makest  all  this  globe  of  lands,  and  these  heavens,  and 
the  secret  forces  which  are  hid  everywhere  in  ocean, 
land,  and  sky,  to  serve  the  great  purposes  of  human- 
kind. We  thank  thee  for  the  meaning  that  is  con- 
cealed in  every  stone,  or  which  flames  out  in  the 
flowers  of  the  field  or  the  stars  of  heaven,  teaching 
wisdom  to  all  of  thy  thoughtful  daughters  and  thy 
eons. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  revelation  which  this 
outward  world  of  nature  makes  of  thyself,  that  above 
UE  and  about  us  there  is  continually  thy  presence,  which 
5 


66 

shines  in  the  stars  of  night,  and  moves  in  the  wind  by 
day,  and  grows  in  the  grass,  and  all  things  doth  per* 
vade.  We  thank  thee  that  thy  providence  watches 
over  all,  the  world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  con- 
scious life  ;  that  thou  orderest  all  of  our  movements, 
and  from  the  beginning  understandest  the  well-prepared 
end,  making  all  things  work  together  for  thy  final  pur- 
pose of  eternal  good. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  nature  which  thou  hast 
given  unto  man,  making  us  the  master  over  things  un- 
derneath our  feet  and  above  our  head,  and  placing  the 
elements  in  subjection  to  us  all  around. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  triumph  of  truth  over  error, 
to  us  so  slow,  to  thyself  so  sure.  We  ble?s  thee  for 
every  word  of  truth  which  has  been  spoken  the  wide 
world  through,  for  all  of  right  which  human  con- 
sciences have  perceived  and  made  into  institutions. 

We  thank  thee  for  that  love  which  setteth  the  soli- 
tary in  families  at  the  beginning,  and  then  reaches 
wide  arms  all  around,  and  will  not  stay  its  hold  till 
it  joins  all  nations  and  kindreds  and  tongues  and  peo- 
ple into  one  great  family  of  love.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  noble  men  and  women  whose  generous  heart  has 
lit  the  altar  fire  of  philanthropy  in  many  a  dark  and 
else  benighted  place. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  unbidden  faith  which  springs 
up  in  our  hearts,  impelling  us  to  trust  thee  and  love 
thee  and  keep  every  commandment  of  thine,  and  that 
while  we  know  not  what  a  day  shall  bring  forth,  we 


67 

are  sure  of  everlasting  life,  and  while  our  own  strength 
is  so  often  weakness,  we  know  that  the  almightiness  of 
thy  wisdom,  thy  power,  thy  justice  and  thy  love,  is  on 
every  living  creature's  side,  and  thou  wilt  bless  every 
child  of  thine  infinite  affection.  Father,  we  thank  thee 
for  the  silent  progress  of  the  true  religion,  that  every- 
where throughout  the  world  thou  hast  those  that  wor- 
ship thee, — 

"Even  that  in  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 
And  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  thy  right  hand  in  that  darkness, 
And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened." 

Father,  we  bless  ihee  for  the  discipline  of  our  daily 
life,  and  pray  that  by  our  experience  .we  may  grow 
wiser  and  nobler-hearted,  that  prosperity  may  teach 
us  to  be  generous  towards  all,  to  be  charitable  towards 
such  as  we  ought  to  help ;  and  when  sadness  and  ad- 
versity come  over  us,  may  they  still  more  soften  our 
hearts,  while  they  confirm  and  strengthen  our  will,  and 
lift  our  souls  upward  to  an  aspiration  for  nobler  and 
nobler  virtues  than  we  have  hitherto  attained.  In  the 
midst  of  our  sadness,  when  crosses  are  laid  on  us 
that  are  hard  to  bear,  and  the  bitter  cup  of  disappoint- 
ment is  offered  to  our  lips  and  it  may  not  pass  away, 
Oh,  may  our  soul  be  so  strong  that  with  a  valiant  might 
we  shall  submit  us  to  thee,  and  grow  stronger  and 
richer  even  by  our  sorrow  and  our  loss,  and  corne  forth 


68 

triumphant  at  last,  with  the  crown  of  righteousness  on 
our  brows,  and  the  certainty  of  acceptance  with  thee 
in  our  soul.  Then,  when  thou  hast  completed  thine 
earthly  work  with  us,  wilt  thou  take  us  to  thyself  to  be 
with  thee  forever  and  ever,  brightening  and  brighten- 
ing towards  the  more  perfect  glory,  as  thou  leadest  us 
by  thy  spirit.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


69 


XV. 

MAY  31,  1857. 

OTHOU  Infinite  One,  who  dwellest  not  only  in 
temples  made  with  hands,  but  art  a  perpetual 
presence,  living  and  moving  and  having  thy  be- 
ing in  every  star  that  flowers  above  and  every  flower 
that  flames  beneath,  we  flee  unto  thee,  who  art  always 
with  us,  and  pray  that  we  may  commune  with  thy  spirit 
face  to  face  for  a  moment,  feeling  thy  presence  with  us, 
and  pouring  out  our  gratitude  unto  thee  ;  and  amid  all 
the  noises  of  earth,  may  the  still  small  voice  of  thy 
spirit  come  into  our  soul,  wakening  our  noblest  faculties 
to  new  life,  and  causing  the  wings  of  the  spirit  to  grow 
out  on  our  mortal  flesh.  OThou  Infinite  One,  we  lift 
our  thoughts  unto  thee,  our  dependent  souls  constraining 
us  unto  thee,  that  we  may  rest  us  under  the  shadow  of 
thy  wings,  and  be  warmed  by  thy  love,  and  sheltered 
and  blessed  by  the  motherly  tender  mercy  wherewith 
thou  regardest  all  of  thy  children.  We  adore  and  wor- 
ship thee,  calling  thee  by  every  name  of  power,  of  wis- 
dom, of  beauty,  and  of  love ;  but  we  know  that  none 
of  these  can  fully  describe  thee  to  ourselves,  for  thou 
transcendest  our  utmost  thought  of  thee,  even  as  the 


70 

heavens  transcend  a  single  drop  of  dew  which  glitters 
in  their  many-colored  light. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  manifold  works  of  thy 
hand,  and  thy  providence  which  hedges  us  in  on  every 
side.  We  thank  thee  for  the  genial  warmth  which  is 
spread  abroad  along  the  sky,  we  bless  thee  for  the  green 
grass  growing  for  the  cattle,  and  the  new  harvest  of 
promise  just  springing  from  the  sod,  foretelling  bread 
for  men  in  months  to  come.  Father,  we  thank  thee 
for  the  flowers,  those  later  prophets  of  Spring,  which 
on  all  the  New  England  hills  now  utter  their  fragrant 
foretelling  of  the  harvest  which  one  day  shall  hang 
from  the  boughs,  and  glitter  and  drop  and  enrich  the 
ground. 

O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  the  nation  within  whose 
borders  the  lines  of  our  lot  have  been  cast.  We  thank 
thee  for  our  fathers,  men  of  mighty  faith,  who  came 
here  and  planted  themselves  in  the  wilderness,  few  in 
numbers  and  strangers  in  it,  and  yet  not  weak  of  heart, 
and  lifting  up  valiant  hands  before  thee.  We  thank 
thee  for  what  truth  they  brought,  what  truth  they 
learned,  and  all  the  noble  heritage  which  is  fallen  to 
our  hands. 

We  bless  thee  for  every  good  institution  in  the  midst 
of  us,  for  schools  and  churches,  for  the  unbounded  op- 
portunity here  in  these  Northern  States  to  develop  the 
freedom  of  our  limbs,  and  enjoy  the  liberty  of  our  souls, 
wherewith  thou  makest  all  men  free. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  daily  lives,  and  we 


71 

thank  thee  for  the  bread  we  eat,  the  garments  we  put 
on,  and  the  houses  which  more  loosely  clothe  us,  shel- 
tering from  the  summer's  heat  or  the  winter's  cold. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  dear  ones  who  garment  us 
about,  sheltering  us  more  tenderly  and  nearly.  We 
bless  thee  for  tho>e  who  love  us,  and  whom  with  an- 
swering love,  we  love  back  again ;  those  under  the  sight 
of  our  eye,  or  lifting  up  their  prayer  with  us,  and  those 
far  severed  from  the  touch  of  our  hand  or  the  heaving 
of  our  voice.  We  thank  thee  for  these  blessed  rela- 
tionships which  set  the  solitary  in  families,  making 
twain  one,  and  thence  manifold,  beautifying  the  world 
with  all  the  tender  ties  which  join  lover  and  beloved, 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  and  with  kindred 
blood  and  kindred  soul  joining  many  children,  grown 
or  growing,  into  one  great  family  of  love. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  great  ideas  of  our  own 
nature,  and  the  revelation  and  inspiration  which  thou 
makest  therein  ;  for  the  grand  knowledge  of  thyself,  our 
Father  and  our  Mother,  full  of  infinite  perfection,  doing 
good  to  each  greatest  and  each  smallest  thing,  and  mak- 
ing all  things  work  together  for  the  good  of  each.  O 
Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  the  knowledge  which  comes 
from  the  inspiration  of  thy  spirit  working  in  the  human 
soul,  and  human  souls  obedient  thereunto  working  with 
thee. 

We  remember  our  own  daily  lives  before  thee,  and 
we  mourn  that,  gifted  with  a  nature  so  large  and  sur- 
rounded with  opportunities  so  admirable,  we  have  yet 


72 

often  stained  our  bodies  with  our  soul's  transgression, 
and  that  unclean  and  unholy  sentiments  have  lodged 
within  us,  yea,  nestled  there  and  been  cherished  and 
brooded  over  by  our  consciousness.  We  lament  that 
we  have  had  within  us  feelings  which  we  would  not 
that  others  should  bear  towards  us,  and  have  done  un- 
righteous deeds.  We  take  shame  to  ourselves  for  these 
things,  and  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  gather  suffering 
thence  and  sorrow  of  heart,  till  we  learn  to  cast  these 
evils  behind  us,  and  live  nobler  and  more  natural  lives, 
inward  of  piety,  and  outward  of  goodness  towards  all. 

We  remember  our  daily  duties  before  thee,  the  hard 
toil  which  thou  givest  us  in  our  manifold  and  various 
avocations,  and  we  pray  thee  that  there  may  be  in  us 
such  a  confidence  in  our  nature,  such  earnest  obedience 
to  thee,  we  reverencing  all  thy  qualities  and  keeping 
thy  commands,  that  we  shall  serve  thee  every  day, 
making  all  our  life  one  great  act  of  holiness  unto  thee. 
May  our  continuous  industry  be  so  squared  by  the 
golden  rule  that  it  shall  nicely  fit  with  the  interests  of 
all  with  whom  we  have  to  do,  and  so  by  our  handicraft 
all  mankind  shall  be  blessed.  We  remember  the  temp- 
tations that  are  before  us,  when  passion  from  within  is 
allied  with  opportunity  from  without,  and  that  we  have 
so  often  therein  gone  astray  ;  and  we  pray  thee  that 
the  spirit  of  religion  may  be  so  strong  within  us  that 
it  shall  enable  us  to  overcome  evil  and  prove  ourselves 
Stronger  from  every  trial. 

We  remember  the  sorrows  and  the  disappointments 


73 

we  must  bear,  and  we  pray  that  this  same  spirit  of  re- 
ligion may  lift  us  up  when  we  are  bowed  down,  and 
strengthen  us  when  we  are  weak,  and  give  joy  of  heart 
to  our  inner  man  when  the  mortal  flesh  weeps  and  our 
eyes  run  down  with  tears.  Yea,  may  we  then  be  con- 
scious of  immortal  life,  and,  lifting  up  holy  hearts,  enjoy 
that  kingdom  of  heaven  which  is  not  meat  and  drink,  arid 
here  on  earth,  by  the  various  steps  of  joy  and  sorrow, 
may  we  mount  up  to  that  high  dwelling-place  where  we 
taste  those  joys  which  the  heart  hath  not  conceived  of, 
but  which  thy  spirit  and  our  own  spirit  create  for  every 
earnest  and  noble  and  aspiring  soul. 

O  Lord,  we  remember  before  thee  our  country,  and 
while  we  thank  thee  for  the  noble  fathers  and  mothers 
who  here  planted  this  national  vine,  and  bless  thee  for 
the  truth  those  men  brought,  and  the  justice  which  se- 
cures for  us  the  liberty  of  our  flesh  and  the  freedom  of 
our  soul,  —  we  remember  also  the  wickedness  in  high 
places,  in  our  Northern  lands  and  in  many  a  Southern 
State,  which  is  throned  over  the  necks  of  the  people. 
We  remember  the  millions  of  our  brother-men  whose 
chained  hands  cannot  this  day  be  lifted  up  to  thee,  whose 
minds  are  dark  with  the  ignorance  we  have  forced  upon 
them,  and  whose  souls  are  in  bondage  because  we  have 
fettered  their  feet  and  manacled  their  hands.  O  Lord, 
we  pray  thee  that  the  whole  nation  may  suffer  till  the 
Church  and  State  be  ashamed  of  their  wickedness,  and 
the  whole  people  rise  in  their  majesty  and  cast  out  this 
iniquity  from  the  midst  of  us,  and  righteousness  covers 


74 

the  land  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  And  we  pray 
thee  that  in  our  humble  way  we  may  be  useful  in  these 
great  and  good  works,  that  our  daily  lives  may  be  a 
gospel  unto  men,  and  the  brave  words  that  we  speak 
and  -the  noble  sentiments  that  we  cherish  may  be  a 
prophecy  of  better  things  to  come,  which  shall  ring  in 
the  ears  of  the  nation  till  they  tingle  and  its  heart  also 
be  touched.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  toy  will 
be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


XVI. 

JUNE  14,  1857. 

OTHOU  Spirit  who  art  everywhere,  and  watchest 
over  us  in  darkness  and  in  light,  we  flee  unto 
thee,  and  for  a  moment  would  mingle  our  spirits 
with  thine,  remembering  our  weakness,  and  also  our 
strength,  rejoicing  gratefully  in  the  good  things  thou 
hast  given  us,  and  lifting  up  manly  aspirations  towards 
thee,  who  every  joint  supplieth  and  quickeneth  our 
soul,  and  seeking  consciously  to  attain  to  a  greater  ex- 
cellence than  we  have  yet  achieved  here  on  earth.  We 
would  spread  out  our  lives  before  thee,  remembering 
our  trials,  our  transgressions,  our  joys,  and  our  sorrows, 
and  any  little  triumph  which  we  may  have  gained  ;  and 
from  these  things  we  would  gather  up  the  materials  to 
light  our  sacrifice,  that  its  flame  may  go  up  before  thee,  in- 
cense from  the  altars  of  earnest  hearts.  May  the  spirit  of 
prayer  guide  us  in  our  devotions,  that  we  may  be  quick- 
ened by  the  dew  of  thine  inspiration  and  warmed  by  the 
daylight  of  thy  providence,  so  that  we  may  bloom  into 
beauty  and  bear  fruit  to  perfection  in  our  mortal  life. 

We  thank  thee  for  thine  infinite  care  and  the  provi- 
dence which  thou  exercisest  over  every  great  and- every 


^  c 
i  O 

little  thing  ;  for  thine  higlier  law  which  rules  the 
ground  underneath  our  feet,  and  whereby  the  most 
ancient  heavens  are  fresh  and  strong.  O  Lord,  thou 
hast  numbered  the  hairs  of  our  head,  and  not  a  spar- 
row falleth  to  the  ground  save  by  thine  infinite  provi- 
dence, blessing  the  hairs  which  thou  hast  numbered, 
and  caring  for  the  sparrow  in  its  fall. 

Our  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  world  thou  hast 
placed  us  in.  We  bless  thee  for  the  heavens  over  our 
head,  burning  all  night  with  such  various  fire,  and  all 
day  pouring  down  their  glad  effulgence  on  the  ground. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  scarf  of  green  beauty  with  which 
thou  mantlest  the  shoulders  of  the  temperate  world,  and 
for  all  the  hopes  that  there  are  in  this  foodful  earth,  and 
for  the  rich  promise  of  the  season  about  us  on  every 
side. 

We  thank  thee  still  more  for  the  nature  which  thou 
hast  given  us,  for  these  earthen  houses  of  the  flesh 
wherein  we  dwell,  and  for  this  atom  of  spirit,  a  par- 
ticle from  thine  own  flame  of  eternity  which  thou  hast 
lodged  in  the  clay. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  large  inheritance  which  has 
come  clown  to  us  from  other  times.  We  bless  thee  that 
other  men  labored,  and  whilst  thou  rewarded  them  for 
their  toil,  that  ive  also  have  entered  into  the  fruit  of 
their  labors,  and  gather  where  we,  have  not  strewed, 
and  eat  where  we  toiled  not. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  institutions  which  other 
days  have  bequeathed  unto  us.  We  thank  thee  for 


77 

those  great  and  godly  men,  speaking  in  every  tongue, 
inspired  by  thy  spirit,  whom  thou  raisedst  up  from  ago 
to  age,  bearing  witness  of  the  nobleness  of  man's  nature, 
and  the  nearness  of  thy  love  towards  all  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  men,  —  their  life  a  continual  flower  of 
piety  on  the  earth,  drawing  men's  eyes  by  its  beauty, 
and  stirring  men's  souls  by  the  sweet  fragrance  of  its 
heavenly  flame. 

Most  chiefly  would  we  thank  thee  for  him  who  in 
an  age  of  darkness  came  and  brought  such  marvellous 
light  to  the  eyes  of  men.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
truths  that  he  taught,  and  the  glorious  humanity  that 
he  lived,  blessing  thee  that  he  was  the  truth  from  thee, 
that  he  showed  us  the  life  that  is  in  thee,  and  himself 
travelled  before  us  the  way  which  leads  to  the  loftiest 
achievements. 

We  thank  thee  for  those  whose  great  courage  in 
times  past  broke  the  oppressor's  rod  and  let  the  op- 
pressed go  free.  And  we  bless  thee  for  the  millions 
of  common  men,  following  the  guidance  of  their  leaders, 
faithful  to  their  spirit,  and  so  to  thee,  who  went  onward 
in  this  great  human  march,  in  whose  bloody  footsteps 
we  gather  the  white  flowers  of  peace,  and  lift  up  our 
thankful  hands  to  thee. 

Father  we  thank  thee  for  the  men  and  women  of 
great  steadfastness  of  soul  in  our  own  times  not  less,  who 
bear  faithful  witness  against  iniquity,  who  light  the 
torch  of  truth  and  pass  it  from  hand  to  hand,  and  sow 
the  world  with  seeds  whence  in  due  time  the  white 


78 

flowers  of  peace  shall  also  spring.  We  thank  thee 
that  thy  spirit  is  not  holden,  but  that  thou  pourest  it 
out  liberally  on  all  who  lift  up  earnest  hearts  unto  thee. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  great  truths  which  are  old,  and 
the  new  truths  also  which  are  great,  and  for  the  light 
of  justice,  for  the  glories  of  philanthropy,  which  human 
eyes  have  for  the  first  time  in  this  age  beheld.  O  Lord, 
we  thank  thee  that  the  glories  which  kings  and  prophets 
waited  for  have  come  down  to  us,  and  thou  hast  revealed 
unto  babes  and  sucklings  those  truths  which  other  ages 
yearned  for  and  found  not. 

0  Thou  who  art  Father  and  Mother  to  the  civilized 
man  and  the  savage,  who  with  equal  tenderness  lookest 
down  on  thy  sinner  and  thy  saint,  having  no  child  of 
perdition  in  thy  mighty  human  family,  we  remember 
before  thee  our  several  lives,  thanking  thee  for  the  joys 
that  gladden  us,  the  work  which  our  hands  find  to  do,  the 
joy  of  its  conclusion,  and  the  education  of  its  process. 

We  are  conscious  of  our  follies,  our  transgressions, 
our  stumblings  by  the  way-side,  and  our  wanderings 
from  the  paths  of  pleasantness  and  peace.  We  know 
how  often  our  hands  have  wrought  iniquity,  and  our- 
selves have  been  mean  and  cowardly  of  heart,  not 
daring  to  do  the  right  which  our  own  souls  told  us  of; 
and  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  suffer  from  these  things, 
till,  greatly  ashamed  thereof,  we  turn  off  from  them  and 
live  glorious  and  noble  lives. 

We  thank  thee,  O  Father,  for  those  who  make  music 
about  our  fireside,  whose  countenance  is  a  benediction 


79 

>n  our  daily  bread,  fairer  to  us  than  the  flowers  of  earth 
or  the  stars  of  heaven.  We  thank  thee  for  those  newly 
born  into  this  world,  bringing  the  fragrance  of  heaven 
in  the  infant's  breath ;  and  if  we  dare  not  thank  thee 
when  our  dear  ones  are  born  out  of  this  world,  and  are 
clothed  with  immortality,  yet  we  thank  thee  that  the 
eye  of  our  faith  can  follow  them  still  to  that  land  where 
all  tears  are  wiped  from  every  eye,  and  the  only  change 
is  from  glory  to  glory. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  joy  and  satisfaction  which  we 
have  attained  to  in  our  knowledge  of  thee,  that  we  are 
sure  of  thy  perfection,  and  need  not  fear  anything  which 
man  can  do  unto  us.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  that,  through 
red  seas  of  peril,  and  over  sandy  wastes  of  temptation 
where  no  water  is,  the  pious  soul  still  goes  before  us,  a 
light. in  the  darkness,  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  to  guide 
us  to  the  rock  that  is  higher  than  we,  and  to  place  our 
feet  in  a  large  place,  where  there  are  fulness  of  joy  and 
pleasures  for  evermore. 

O  Thou  who  art  infinite  in  thy  power,  thy  wisdom,  and 
thy  love,  —  who  art  the  God  of  the  Christian,  the  Hea- 
tben,  and  the  Jew,  blessing  all  mankind  which  thou  hast 
made  to  inhabit  the  whole  earth,  —  we  thank  thee  for  all 
thy  blessings,  and  pray  that,  mindful  of  our  nature  and 
thy  nearness  to  us,  we  may  learn  to  live  to  the  full  height 
of  the  faculties  which  thou  hast  given  us,  cultivating 
them  with  such  large  and  geperous  education  that  we 
shall  know  the  truth  and  it  shall  make  us  free,  that  we 
may  distinguish  between  these  ever-living  command- 


80 

ments  of  thine  and  the  traditions  of  men,  that  we  may 
know  what  is  right  and  follow  it  day  by  day  and  con- 
tinually, that  we  may  enlarge  still  more  the  affections 
that  are  in  us,  and  travel  in  our  pilgrimage  from  those 
near  at  hand  to  those  needing  our  help  far  off,  and  so 
do  good  to  all  mankind,  and  that  there  may  be  in  us 
such  religious  trust  that  all  our  daily  work  shall  be  one 
great  act  of  service  and  as  sacramental  as  our  prayer. 
Thus  may  we  be  strengthened  in  the  inner  man,  able 
at  all  times  to  acquit  us  as  good  soldiers  in  the  warfare 
of  life,  to  run  and  not  be  weary,  to  walk  and  never 
faint,  and  to  pass  from  glory  to  glory  till  we  are  trans- 
figured at  last  into  the  perfect  image  of  thy  spirit. 
Then,  when  thou  hast  finished  thy  work  with  us  on 
earth,  whjen  the  clods  of  the  valley  are  sweet  to  our 
weary  frame,  may  our  soul  go  home  to  thee,  and  so 
may  we  spend  eternity  in  the  progressive  welfare  which 
thou  appointest  for  thy  children.  And  here  on  earth 
may  the  gleams  of  that  future  glory  come  upon  us  in 
our  mortal  life,  clearing  up  the  difficult  paths  and 
strengthening  our  heart  when  it  is  weak  within  us.  So 
may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earto 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 


bl 


XVII. 

JUNE  28,  1857. 

OTIIOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  occupiest  all  space, 
who  guidest  all  motion,  thyself  unchanged,  and 
art  the  life  of  all  that  lives,  we  flee  unto  thee,  in 
whom  we  also  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,  and 
would  reverence  thee  with  what  is  highest  and  holiest  in 
our  soul.  We  know  that  thou  art  not  to  be  worshipped 
as  though  thou  neededst  aught,  or  askedst  the  psalm 
of  praise  from  our  lips,  or  our  heart's  poor  prayer.  0 
Lord,  the  ground  under  our  feet,  and  the  seas  which 
whelm  it  round,  the  air  which  holds  them  both,  and 
the  heavens  sparkling  with  many  a  fire,  —  these  are  a 
whisper  of  the  psalm  of  praise  which  creation  send; 
forth  to  thee,  and  we  know  that  thou  askest  no  homage 
of  bended  knee,  nor  heart  bowed  down,  nor  heart  up- 
lifted unto  thee.  But  in  our  feebleness  and  our  dark- 
ness, dependent  on  thee  for  all  things,  we  lift  up  our 
eyes  unto  thee  ;  as  a  little  child  to  the  father  and  mother 
who  guide  him  by  their  hands,  so  do  our  eyes  look  up 
to  thy  countenance,  O  Thou  who  art  our  Father  and 
our  Mother  too,  and  bless  thee  for  all  thy  gifts.  We 
look  to  the  infinity  of  thy  perfection  with  awe-touched 
6 


8? 

heart,  and  we  adore  the  sublimity  which  we  cannot 
comprehend.  We  bow  down  before  thee,  and  would 
renew  our  sense  of  gratitude  and  quicken  still  more 
our  certainty  of  trust,  till  we  feel  thee  a  presence  close 
to  our  heart,  and  are  so  strong  in  the  heavenly  confi- 
dence that  nothing  earthly  can  disturb  us  or  make  us 
fear. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  this  beautiful  day  which 
thou  hast  given  us,  for  the  glory  which  walks  over  our 
heads  through  the  sky,  for  the  pleasing  alternation  of 
light  and  shade,  and  all  the  gorgeous  beauty  wherewith 
thou  clothest  the  Summer  in  her  strength,  making  her 
lovely  to  the  eyes  of  men.  Father,  we  thank  thee  that 
thou  never  failest  to  thy  world,  but  sheddest  dew  on 
meadows  newly  mown,  and  rainest  down  thine  inspiration 
from  the  clouds  of  heaven  on  every  little  grass  and 
every  mighty  tree.  Father,  we  thank  thee  that  thou 
feedest  and  carest  for  all  thy  creatures,  the  motes  that 
people  the  sunbeams,  and  the  sparrows  which  fall  not  to 
the  ground  but  by  thy  providence,  protecting  with  thy 
hand  the  wandering  birds  of  summer,  and  the  wander- 
ing stars  of  heaven,  holding  them  all  in  the  golder. 
leash  of  thy  love,  and  blessing  everything  which  thou 
hast  made. 

0  Thou  Infinite  One,  we  thank  thee  for  thy  precious 
providence,  which  is  new  every  morning  and  fresh  every 
evening  and  at  noonday  never  fails.  O  Thou  whom 
no  name  can  tell,  whom  all  our  thoughts  cannot  fully 
comprehend,  we  rejoice  in  all  thy  goodness ;  we  thank 


83 

thee  that  from  seeming  evil  thou  still  educest  good,  and 
better  thence  again,  and  better  still,  in  thine  own  infinite 
progression,  leading  forward  and  upward  every  creature 
which  thou  hast  made. 

"We  thank  thee  for  our  body,  this  handful  of  dust  so 
euriously  and  wonderfully  framed  together.  We  bless 
thee  for  this  sparkle  of  thy  fire  that  we  call  our  soul, 
which  enchants  the  dust  into  thoughtful  human  life, 
and  blesses  us  with  so  rich  a  gift.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  varied  powers  thou  hast  given  us  here  on 
earth.  We  bless  thee  for  the  far-reaching  mind,  which 
puts  all  things  underneath  our  feet,  rides  on  the  winds 
and  the  waters,  and  tames  the  lightning  into  useful  ser- 
vice. We  thank  thee  for  the  use  and  the  beauty  which 
our  thoughtful  minds  create,  the  grass  of  use  for  hum- 
ble needs,  the  bread  of  beauty  for  loftier  and  more 
aspiring  powers.  We  thank  thee  for  this  conscience, 
whereby  face  to  face  we  commune  with  thine  everlast- 
ing justice.  We  thank  thee  for  the  strength  of  will 
which  can  overpower  the  weakness  of  mortal  flesh, 
face  danger  and  endure  hardship,  and  in  all  things 
acquit  us  like  men. 

O  Thou  who  art  the  King  of  Love,  we  thank  thee 
for  these  genial  affections  which  knit  us  to  our  kind. 
We  bless  thee  for  the  love  which  sets  the  solitary  in 
families,  which  makes  one  of  twain,  and  thence  many 
more,  born  from  love,  and  growing  up  to  kindred  love 
again.  We  thank  thee  for  the  kindly  sentiment  which 
brings  to  pass  the  sweet  societies  of  friendship,  of  kins- 


84 

folk  and  acquaintance,  the  joy  of  neighborhoods,  the 
wide  companionship  of  nations ;  and  for  that  philan- 
thropy, which,  transcending  the  narrow  bounds  of  indi- 
vidual life,  of  family,  kinship,  neighborhood,  and  nation, 
goes  round  the  world,  looking  for  the  ignorant  to  teach 
them,  for  the  needy  to  fill  them  with  bread,  and  for  the 
oppressed  to  set  them  free. 

O  Thou  Infinite  One,  who  hast  poured  out  treasures 
more  golden  yet,  we  thank  thee  for  this  religious  sense, 
whereby  we  know  thee,  and,  amid  a  world  of  things 
that  perish,  lay  fast  hold  on  thyself,  who  alone  art 
steadfast,  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  years, 
forever  and  forever  still  the  same.  We  thank  thee  that 
amid  all  the  darkness  of  time,  amid  joys  that  deceive 
us  and  pleasures  that  cheat,  amid  the  transgressions 
we  commit,  we  can  still  lift  up  our  hands  to  thee,  and 
draw  near  thee  with  our  heart,  and  thou  blessest  us  still 
with  more  than  a  father's  or  a  mother's  never-ending 
love. 

O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  these  bodies,  we  bless  thee 
for  this  overmastering  soul,  which  only  quits  the  flesh 
to  dwell  with  thee  in  greater  and  more  glorified  mag- 
nificence forever  and  forever.  We  thank  thee  for  those 
of  past  times  or  our  own  day  who  have  brought  to 
human  consciousness  the  greatness  of  our  nature,  the 
nearness  of  thy  presence,  and  the  certainty  of  thy  love. 
We  bless  thee  for  those  whose  words  have  taught,  whose 
living  breath  still  teaches  us  wiser  desires,  simpler  man- 
ners, grander  truths  and  loftier  hopes,  and  chiefliest  of 


85 

all  foi   those  whose  lives  reveal  to  us  so  much  that  is 
human  that  we  clap  our  hands  and  call  it  divine. 

Our  Father,  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  use  the 
blessings  thou  hast  given  us,  and  never  once  abuse 
them.  We  would  keep  our  bodies  enchanted  still  with 
handsome  life,  wisely  would  we  cultivate  the  intellect 
which  thou  hast  throned  therein,  and  we  would  so  live 
with  conscience  active  and  will  so  strong  that  we  shall 
fix  our  eye  on  the  right,  and,  amid  all  the  distress  and 
trouble,  the  good  report  and  the  evil,  of  our  mortal  life, 
Bteer  straightway  there,  and  bate  no  jot  of  human 
heart  or  hope.  We  pray  thee  that  we  may  cultivate  still 
more  these  kindly  hearts  of  ours,  and  faithfully  perform 
our  duty  to  friend  and  acquaintance,  to  lover  and  be- 
loved, to  wife  and  child,  to  neighbor  and  nation,  and  to 
all  mankind.  May  we  feel  our  brotherhood  to  the 
whole  human  race,  remembering  that  nought  human 
is  strange  to  our  flesh  but  is  kindred  to  our  soul.  Our 
Father,  we  pray  that  we  may  grow  continually  in  true 
piety,  bringing  down  everything  which  would  unduly 
exalt  itself,  and  lifting  up  what  is  lowly  within  us,  till, 
though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  our  inward  man 
shall  be  renewed  day  by  day,  and  within  us  all  shall 
be  fair  and  beautiful  to  thee,  and  without  us  our  daily 
lives  useful,  our  whole  consciousness  blameless  in  thy 
sight.  When  new  blessings  are  born  to  us  in  the  body, 
when  kindred  souls  are  born  out  from  the  body  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  may  we  accept  thy  varying  dispen- 
sation, which  on  the  one  hand  gives  and  on  the  other 


86 

takes  away,  and  still  triumphantly  exclaim,  It  is  thy 
hand,  O  God  !  Yea,  so  may  we  live  on  earth  that  our 
daily  toil  shall  renew  a  right  spirit  within  us,  that  the 
temptations  of  business  shall  open  the  eye  of  our  con- 
science that  we  may  see  justice  and  conform  our  will 
thereto,  and  our  heart  grow  warmer  and  wider  every 
day,  and  our  confidence  in  thee  so  firm  and  absolute 
that  it  cannot  change  and  will  not  be  afraid.  Father, 
help  us  to  know  thee  as  thou  art,  to  understand  thee  as 
thou  revealest  thyself  in  this  world  that  is  about  us,  as 
thou  hast  spoken  through  mightiest  men  in  other  days, 
and  still  more  to  read  that  older  as  that  newest  Scrip- 
ture ever  written  on  our  soul,  that  we  may  know  thee 
in  thine  infinity,  perfect  in  thy  completeness,  and  com- 
plete in  thy  perfections.  And  whilst  we  know  thee 
and  love  thee,  may  we  overcome  every  fear  of  chance 
or  change,  every  fear  of  disaster  and  storm  and  fate. 
Thus  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  so  thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


87 


XVIII. 

JULY  5,  1857. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and 
everywhere,  who  dwellest  not  only  in  houses 
made  with  hands,  but  hast  thy  dwelling-place 
wherever  a  human  heart  lifts  up  a  prayer  to  thee,  we 
would  flee  unto  thee,  and,  gathering  up  our  spirits  from 
the  cares  and  the  joys  and  the  sorrows  of  life,  would 
commune  with  thee  for  a  moment,  that  so  we  may  be 
made  stronger  for  every  duty  and  more  beautiful  in 
thy  sight.  May  thy  holy  spirit  rest  upon  us,  and  pray 
with  us  in  our  morning  prayer,  teaching  us  what  things 
we  should  ask,  and  how  to  pray  thee  as  we  ought. 

0  Thou  who  art  everywhere,  and  fillest  all  the  world, 
we  thank  thee  for  the  freshness  and  beauty  of  this  sum- 
mer's day.  We  thank  thee  for  the  fair  broad  world 
wherein  thou  easiest  the  lines  of  our  earthly  lot,  for  the 
sky  above  us,  burning  all  night  with  starry  fire,  for  the 
splendor  which  gladdens  the  gates  of  morning  and  of 
evening,  and  the  beauty  which  by  day  possesses  the 
heavens  with  its  serene  presence,  adorning  the  figure 
of  every  cloud.  We  thank  thee  for  the  ground  under 
our  feet,  for  the  green  luxuriance  that  is  spread  on  all 


88 

the  hills  and  fields,  for  the  rich  harvest  now  yielding  to 
the  mower's  scythe,  to  be  swept  into  his  crowded  barns; 
and  that  other  harvest,  a  wave-offering  of  bread  for 
man,  or  which  hangs  abundant,  growing  or  ripening, 
from  many  a  tree  all  round  the  land.  For  these  things 
\\e  bless  thee,  remembering  it  is  thou  who  fultillest  the 
wants  of  every  living  thing,  opening  thy  hand  and 
satisfying  thy  children  with  needed  bread.  We  bless 
thee  likewise  for  the  beauty  which  unasked  for  springs 
up  by  the  way-side,  and  broiders  every  human  path,  or 
which  thou  givest  us  the  power  to  produce  from  out  the 
cold  hard  ground.  We  thank  thee  for  the  lilies  and 
the  roses  which  grow  obedient  to  the  gardener's 
thoughtful  call,  beautifying  the  fields  and  adorning 
many  a  house ;  and  bless  thee  for  thy  loving-kind- 
ness which  scatters  wild  roses  along  every  rural  path 
and  about  the  margin  of  many  a  pond,  and  on  the 
borders  of  every  sluggish  stream  plants  thy  lilies, 
wherewith  the  enamored  water,  pausing  in  the  beauty 
of  its  course,  wantons,  as  it  were,  upon  its  handsome 
shores.  O  Thou  Infinite  One,  we  thank  thee  that  thou 
revealest  thyself  not  only  in  books  writ  with  human 
pens,  but  in  all  the  stars  above,  in  every  blade  of  grass, 
in  every  fruit  and  flower  which  the  gardener's  thought- 
ful care  produces  from  the  ground,  or  in  these,  the 
roses  and  lilies  which  thy  beneficent  hand  profusely 
scatters  by  many  a  pond  and  long-lingering  stream. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  own  lives,  and  thank 
thee  for  these  bodies  so  hopefully  and  wonderfully  made; 


89 

and  these  over-mastering  souls  which  enchant  a  hand* 
ful  of  dust  into  living,  thinking,  and  worshipping  frames 
of  matter,  that  are  so  animated  with  h;  avenly  life.  We 
bless  thee  for  our  daily  work  which  ft-eds  and  clothes 
our  bodies,  and,  though  we  ask  it  not,  which  instructs 
our  understanding,  and  elevates  our  earnest  conscience 
and  heart  and  soul. 

We  remember  before  thee  those  that  are  near  and 
dear  to  us,  bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh, 
whose  very  presence  is  a  joy,  and  whose  recollection 
is  a  blessing  to  our  heart.  O  Lord,  we  remember  be- 
fore thee  those  whose  flesh  the  grave  hides  from  our 
eyes,  but  who  are  still  life  of  our  life,  soul  of  our  soul, 
those  who  have  ceased  from  their  labors  and  have  gone 
home  to  thy  more  intimate  presence,  rejoicing,  and  ad- 
vancing from  glory  to  glory. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  trials  thou  givest  us, 
and  the  temptations,  often  too  strong  for  us  to  bear,  and 
we  pray  thee  that  we  may  rouse  up  every  noblest 
faculty  in  us,  and  so  live  that  though  our  outward 
man  should  perish,  the  inward  man  may  be  renewed 
day  by  day,  advancing  towards  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  a  perfect  man.  O  Father  who  art  in  heaven, 
O  Mother  who  art  near  us  always,  we  pray  thee  that 
there  may  be  such  religious  faithfulness  in  us  that  not 
only  the  prayer  of  our  Sunday  morning  shall  be  ac- 
ceptable to  thee,  but  all  the  work  of  our  daily  life  be 
blameless  and  beautiful,  holy  as  a  sacrament,  and  a  con- 
tinual service  unto  thee.  May  there  be  such  confidence 


90 

in  thee,  such  love  of  thee,  and  such  fidelity  towards 
thee,  that  we  shall  bring  down  every  high  thing  which 
exalts  itself,  and  make  every  member  of  our  body  and 
every  faculty  of  our  soul  to  serve  thee  in  our  joy,  and 
serve  thee  in  our  toil,  and  even  in  our  sorrow  and  our 
sighing  to  serve  thee  not  the  less. 

Our  Father,  who  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity,  who  blessest  all  of  thy  children,  we  remember 
before  thee  the  great  country  in  which  thou  hast  cast 
the  lines  of  our  lot.  We  thank  thee  for  the  broad  land 
thou  hast  given  us,  the  mighty  seas  which  are  tributary 
to  our  thought ;  we  bless  thee  for  the  vast  multitude  of 
people,  and  the  great  riches  which  our  hands  have  won 
from  the  soil  under  our  feet,  from  the  waters  that  are 
round  us,  from  the  air  that  is  over  our  head,  and  the 
mines  which  are  hid  in  the  bosom  of  the  ground. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  days  of  our  small 
things,  and  we  thank  thee  for  those  pilgrims  who  were 
moved  with  such  greatness  of  piety  that  they  refused  to 
obey  the  wickedness  of  men.  We  thank  thee  that  thou 
sustained  them  when  they  went  from  their  own  land,  that 
thou  wert  with  them  in  all  their  perils,  and  didst  bring 
them  out  of  deep  waters  and  plantedst  their  feet  here 
in  a  large  place.  We  thank  thee  for  the  vine  which 
here  our  fathers  planted  where  they  hewed  the  wilder- 
ness away ;  we  bless  thee  that  they  tended  it  with  their 
prayers,  and  watered  it  with  their  tears,  and  defended 
it  also  with  their  blood.  We  thank  thee  for  those  pa- 
triots who  drew  the  sword  in  the  day  of  extreme  need, 


91 

who  put  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens,  through 
whose  wounds  we  are  healed,  and  whose  blows,  smote 
by  their  right  hand,  have  wrought  for  us  our  political 
redemption.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  women 
whose  valiant  eyes  looked  on  and  encouraged  the 
hardier  flesh  of  father,  brother,  husband,  lover,  or 

6011. 

And  now,  Lord,  we  bless  thee  for  the  fair  institutions 
which  they  founded  here.  We  thank  thee  for  what  of 
freedom  we  enjoy  in  the  state,  for  all  of  education 
which  comes  from  wide-spread  schools,  for  the  in- 
struction which  the  unbridled  press  furnishes  for  alL 
We  thank  thee  for  what  of  justice  is  made  law,  for  all 
of  right  which  has  become  the  common  custom  of  the 
people,  for  the  happiness  which  has  ensued  to  us  all. 

But,  Lord,  with  shame  and  weeping,  we  lament  the 
sins  which  thy  people  have  committed  against  thee  ;  that, 
with  all  the  blessings  of  other  days  gathered  in  our 
arms,  with  all  the  strength  of  holy  institutions  and  of 
great  ideas  enlarging  our  consciousness,  we  are  still  a 
people  so  proud  and  so  wicked,  who  tread  thy  law  un- 
derneath unholy  feet.  Father,  we  mourn  that  we  have 
trodden  the  needy  down  to  the  ground,  that  we  have 
broken  the  poor  to  fragments  and  ground  them  to  the 
dust,  and  on  the  day  of  the  nation's  jubilee  we  mourn 
that  the  hands  of  millions  of  men  are  chained  together, 
and  their  minds  are  fettered  by  ignorance.  Yea,  Lord, 
we  take  shame  and  confusion  of  face  to  ourselves  that 
«re  suffer  this  monstrous  sin  to  linger  in  the  midst  of  us, 


92 

making  the  nation's  face  gather  blackness  in  its  walk 
on  earth.  We  mourn  that  our  rulers  are  base,  and  the 
prayer  of  the  people  has  become  an  abomination  before 
thee,  because  of  our  wickedness  and  the  oppression 
with  which  we  have  tortured  the  weakest  of  men. 
We  will  not  ask  thee  to  save  us  in  our  sins,  to  free 
us  from  the  consequence  of  wrong,  while  we  fold  the 
evil  in  our  mistaken  arms,  but  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  be  afflicted  in  our  basket  and  store,  that  our  great 
men  may  be  vanity,  and  our  governors  a  lie,  till  we  re- 
pent of  our  wickedness  and  put  away  the  evil  from  the 
midst  of  us. 

O  Thou  Infinite  One,  who  hast  given  us  strength 
proportioned  to  our  need,  we  pray  that  we  may  use 
the  faculties  thou  hast  given  us  to  overcome  the  evil 
that  lies  before  us  in  our  path.  May  our  minds  devise 
the  right  way,  our  conscience  point  to  us  the  justice 
which  we  should  follow,  and  our  hands  work  out  our 
own  redemption,  even  as  thou  commandest  in  every 
bone  of  our  body  and  every  faculty  of  our  soul.  So 
may  we  serve  our  nation  better  even  than  our  fathers, 
the  patriots  or  the  pilgrims,  being  faithful  to  the  light 
of  our  day  and  generation,  and  walking  whither  thou 
wouldst  have  us  to  go.  So  may  light  come  forth,  and 
beauty  and  holiness  cover  the  whole  land,  and  peace 
and  joy  and  righteousness  be  the  possession  of  us  all. 
Thus  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


93 

XIX. 

NOVEMBER  1,  1857. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  we 
thank  thee  that  in  houses  made  with  hands,  and 
everywhere,  thou  revealest  thyself  to  thy  chil- 
dren, and  we  flee  unto  thee  with  our  psalm  of  thanks- 
giving and  our  words  of  prayer,  to  bless  thee  for  all 
that  thou  givest,  and  to  quicken  our  souls  in  heavenly 
aspiration,  that  while  thou  drawest  near  unto  us  we 
may  draw  near  unto  thee,  and  in  thee  live  and  move 
and  have  our  being.  May  the  words  of  our  mouths 
and  the  meditations  of  our  hearts  be  acceptable  in 
thy  sight,  O  Lord,  our  Strength  and  our  Redeemer. 
"We  thank  thee  for  all  the  blessings  thou  givest  us, 
for  the  ground  beneath  our  feet,  and  the  heavens  over 
our  head,  for  the  sun  which  gently  parts  the  morning 
clouds,  and  from  his  golden  urn  pours  down  the  hand- 
some day  all  round  our  northern  land,  and  for  the  mill- 
ion eyes  of  heaven  which  all  night  look  down  upon  a 
slumbering  world,  full  of  thine  own  wisdom,  and  radiat- 
ing thy  love,  which  never  slumbers  and  doth  not  sleep. 
We  thank  thee  that  thy  spirit,  which  animates  nature 
with  its  overflowing  currents,  fills  also  the  heart  and 
soul  of  man. 


94 


We  thank  thec  for  all  the  good  which  thou  doest  tc 
us,  for  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy,  which 
are.  over  all  thy  works.  We  thank  thee  that  thou 
takest  care  of  oxen,  and  hast  thine  own  thought  for 
every  great  and  every  little  thing  which  thine  hands 
have  made.  We  bless  thee  that  we  can  both  lay  us 
down  and  sleep  in  safety,  and  when  we  wake  that  we 
are  still  with  thee.  We  thank  thee  for  thine  infinite 
knowledge  and  thy  power,  wherewith  thou  createdst 
the  all  of  things,  foreseeing  the  end  before  the  be- 
ginning yet  was,  and  making  all  things  work  together 
for  the  good  of  all  and  each.  We  thank  thee  that  we 
know  that  thou  boldest  the  universe  like  a  violet  plant 
in  thine  hand,  wannest  it  into  life  with  thy  breath,  and 
inspires!  it  with  thine  own  beauty,  and  blessest  it  with 
thyself.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  watchest  over  the 
course  of  human  affairs,  and  bringest  good  out  of  evil, 
light  out  of  darkness,  and  continually  leadest  forward  thy 
children,  step  by  step,  from  the  low  state  wherein  thou 
wert  pleased  to  create  mankind,  to  higher  and  higher 
heights  of  nobleness,  as  thou  developest  thy  children  to 
youth,  to  manhood,  yea,  to  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  a  complete  and  perfect  man.  We  thank  thee  that 
thou  hast  nowhere  left  thyself  without  a  witness,  but 
everywhere  makest  revelations  of  thyself,  where  day 
unto  day  uttereth  speech  of  thee,  and  night  unto  night 
showeth  knowledge ;  yea,  where  there  is  no  other  voice 
nor  language,  thou,  Lord,  speakest  in  thine  infinite  wis- 
dom and  thy  boundless  love.  We  thank  thee  for  the 


95 

presence  of  thy  holy  spirit  everywhere,  that  thou  per- 
suasively knockest  at  every  closed  heart,  and  into  open 
souls  comest  like  the  sweetness  of  morning,  spreading 
there  the  delight  of  truth  and  piety,  and  loving-kind- 
ness and  tender  mercy  too. 

We  thank  thee  that  while  we  are  sure  of  thy  pro- 
tecting care,  thy  causal  providence,  which  foresees  all 
things,  we  can  bear  the  sorrows  of  this  world,  and  do 
its  duties,  and  endure  its  manifold  and  heavy  cross. 
We  thank  thee  that  when  distress  comes  upon  us,  and 
our  mortal  schemes  vanish  into  thin  air,  we  know  there 
is  something  solid  which  we  can  lay  hold  of,  and  not 
be  frustrate  in  our  hopes.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  that 
when  death  breaks  asunder  the  slender  thread  of  life 
whereon  our  family  jewels  are  strung,  and  the  precious 
stones  of  our  affection  fall  from  our  arms  or  neck,  we 
know  thou  takest  them  and  elsewhere  givest  them 
a  heavenly  setting,  wherein  they  shine  before  the  light 
of  thy  presence  as  morning  stars,  brightening  and 
brightening  to  more  perfect  glory,  as  they  are  trans- 
figured by  thine  own  almighty  power. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  the  truth  which  the  stream  of 
time  has  brought  to  us  from  many  a  land  and  every 
age.  We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  examples  of  human 
nature  which  thou  hast  raised  up,  that  in  times  of  dark- 
ness there  are  wise  men,  in  times  of  doubt  there  are 
firm  men,  and  in  every  peril  there  stand  up  heroes  of 
the  soul  to  teach  us  feebler  men  our  duty,  and  to  lead 
all  of  thy  children  to  trust  in  thee.  Father,  we  thank 


96 

thee  that  the  seed  of  righteousness  is  never  lost,  but 
through  many  a  deluge  is  carried  safe,  to  make  the 
wilderness  to  bloom  and  blossom  with  beauty  ever  fra- 
grant and  ever  new,  and  the  desert  bear  corn  for  men 
and  sustain  the  souls  of  the  feeble  when  they  faint. 

We  thank  thee  for  that  noblest  ornament  and  fairest 
revelation  of  the  nature  of  man  whom  thou  didst  once 
send  on  the  earth  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost.  We  thank  thee  that  he  withstood  the  sin  and 
iniquity  of  his  time,  that  he  was  the  friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners,  that  he  broke  the  yoke  of  the  oppressor 
and  let  the  oppressed  go  free.  We  thank  thee  that  he 
respected  not  the  position  of  men,  but  was  a  friend  to 
all  the  friendless,  and  the  blessing  of  those  ready  to 
perish  fell  on  his  head.  Father,  we  thank  thee  that  he 
lifted  up  that  which  was  fallen  down,  and  bound  that 
which  was  bruised,  and  was  a  father  to  the  fatherless, 
and  the  savior  of  us  all.  Yea,  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for 
his  temptations  and  his  agonies,  for  his  trials  and  his 
bloody  cross,  and  for  all  his  perils  so  manfully  borne, 
and  the  crown  of  human  homage  and  divine  reverence 
which  thou  didst  set  on  his  head,  defiled  once  by  a 
crown  of  thorns.  And  while  we  thank  thee  for  these 
things,  O  Lord,  we  pray  that  the  same  human  nature 
may  be  active  in  our  heart,  and  a  like  heroism  bear 
fruit  in  our  daily  lives. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  every  good  institution  of 
the  church  which  has  brought  life  and  loving-kindness 
unto  men.  We  thank  thee  for  the  great  saints  and 


97 

martyrs  whose  names  are  household  words  in  the 
world's  mouth,  and  also  for  those  unnumbered  and 
unnamed,  who  with  common  talents  have  done  great 
service  for  mankind,  whose  holy  life  thou  hast  blessed 
for  all  the  world.  We  ^.member  these  before  thee, 
and  thank  thee  for  the  prayers,  and  the  toils,  the  tears, 
the  blood,  and  the  manly  and  womanly  endeavor, 
whereby  the  wilderness  has  been  made  to  blossom  as 
the  rose,  and  the  great  victories  of  humankind  have 
been  achieved  for  us. 

0  Thou  who  art  our  Father,  and  our  Mother  not  the 
less,  we  remember  these  things,  and  we  pour  out  our 
hearts  in  psalm  of  gratitude  and  ascending  prayer  of 
thanksgiving  unto  thee.  We  remember  our  own  lives< 
the  lines  of  our  lot  cast  in  this  pleasant  land,  and 
we  pray  thee  that  we  may  faithfully  do  every  duty 
which  the  age  demands  of  us.  Inheriting  so  much 
from  times  past,  quickened  by  the  inspiration  of  great 
men,  and,  still  more,  feeling  thee  a  presence  not  to  be 
put  by,  ever  near  to  our  heart,  —  we  pray  thee  that 
there  may  be  such  religiousness  of  soul  within  us  that 
we  shall  make  every  day  a  Lord's  day,  and  all  our 
work  a  great  sacrament  of  communion  with  thy  spirit. 
We  pray  thee  that  we  may  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
forsake  the  sins  which  do  most  easily  beset  us,  and  run 
the  race  that  is  before  us,  pressing  forward  to  the  glori- 
ous prize  which  thou  appointest  for  thy  children.  So 
may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 

7 


98 


XX. 

JANUARY  10,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Perfection,  who  art  the  soul  of 
all  things  that  are,  we  would  lift  up  our  spirit 
and  gather  up  our  hearts,  and  feel  thy  presence 
and  have  thee  as  an  abiding  light  in  our  tabernacle 
We  would  thank  thee  for  all  the  blessings  thou  givesl 
us,  and  thy  precious  providence  whereby  we  live.  Wt 
know  that  thou  needest  no  prayer  of  ours  to  stir  thee 
to  do  us  good,  but  in  the  midst  of  things  changing  and 
passing  away,  our  heart  and  our  soul  cry  out  for  thee, 
the  ever  living  and  true  God.  In  the  moment  of  our 
adoration,  while  we  worship  thee  by  our  prayer,  may 
we  so  strengthen  ourselves  that  we  shall  serve  thee  all 
our  lives,  by  a  daily  work  which  is  full  of  obedience  to 
thee  and  trust  in  thy  perfection. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  world  of  matter  whereon  we 
live,  wherewith  our  hands  are  occupied,  and  whereby 
our  bodies  are  builded  up  and  filled  with  food  and 
furnished  with  all  things  needful  to  enjoy.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  calmness  of  Night,  which  folds  thy  children 
in  her  arms,  and  rockest  them  into  peaceful  sleep,  and 
when  we  wake  we  thank  thee  that  we  are  still  with 


99 

thee.  We  bless  thee  for  the  heavens  over  our  head, 
arched  with  loveliness,  and  starred  with  beauty,  speak- 
ing ever  in  the  poetry  of  nature  the  psalm  of  life  which 
the  spheres  chant  before  thee  to  every  listening  soul. 

"We  thank  thee  for  this  greater  and  nobler  world  of 
spirit  wherein  we  live,  whereof  we  are,  whereby  we  are 
strengthened,  upheld  and  blessed.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  wondrous  powers  which  thou  hast  given  to  man, 
that  thou  hast  created  him  for  so  great  an  estate,  that 
thou  hast  enriched  him  with  such  noble  faculties  of 
mind  and  conscience  and  heart  and  soul,  capable 
of  such  continual  increase  of  growth  and  income 
of  inspiration  from  thyself.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
wise  mind,  for  the  just  conscience,  for  the  loving  heart, 
and  the  soul  which  knows  thee  as  thou  art,  and  enters 
into  communion  with  thy  spirit,  rejoicing  in  its  blessing 
from  day  to  day. 

We  thank  thee  for  noble  men  whom  thou  hast  raised 
up  in  all  time,  for  the  great  minds  who  bring  thy  truth 
to  human  consciousness,  and  thereby  make  mankind 
free.  We  thank  thee  for  good  men  who  do  justly,  and 
love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  thee,  visiting  the 
fatherless  and  the  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  keep- 
ing themselves  unspotted  from  the  world,  which  they 
feed  and  bless  with  occasional  charity  and  ever  con- 
tinuous toil  and  thought.  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for 
those  who  love  thee  with  all  their  understanding  and 
their  heart,  and,  loving  thee  thus,  love  also  their  neigh- 
bors as  themselves ;  who  overtake  those  that  wandei 


100 

from  the  way  of  truth,  who  lift  up  the  fallen,  who  are 
eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  to  the  lame,  and  strength 
and  salvation  to  such  as  are  ready  to  perish. 

We  thank  thee  that  while  we  are  brothers  and  sisters 
to  each  other,  thou  art  Father  and  Mother  to  us  all,  and 
when  earthly  parents  forsake  and  let  us  fall,  when  our 
own  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance  turn  from  us,  thou  wilt 
hold  us  up  and  in  nowise  let  us  fall. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  daily  lives,  the  duties 
thou  givest  us  to  be  done,  and  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  have  manly  and  womanly  strength  to  do  whatso- 
ever our  duty  requires,  and  to  bear  any  cross  that  is 
laid  upon  us,  how  hard  and  grievous  soever  to  be  borne. 
We  remember  before  thee  the  joys  thou  givest  us,  and 
we  pray  thee  that  while  our  own  heart  is  filled  with 
gratitude  to  thee  for  the  blessings  which  our  hands  have 
wrought,  or  have  fallen  as  an  inheritance  to  our  lot,  we 
may  run  over  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  to 
our  fellow-men. 

O  Lord,  we  remember  the  sorrows  with  which  thou 
triest  us,  which  make  our  eyes  run  down  with  tears, 
and  we  pray  thee  that  there  may  be  in  us  such  serenity 
of  trust  in  thy  providence  that  every  tear  shall  be 
changed  to  a  far-prospecting  glass,  whereby  distant 
glories  shall  be  brought  near,  and  things  seemingly 
small  shine  out  in  their  real  grandeur  before  our  eyes, 
and  ourselves  be  comforted  even  by  the  affliction  thou 
givest  us,  and  grow  strong  by  what  else  would  weaken 
heart  and  soul. 


101 

We  pray  thee  that  there  may  be  in  us  a  pure  and 
blameless  piety,  which,  knowing  thee  in  thine  infinite 
perfection,  loves  thee  with  all  our  understanding  and 
our  heart  and  our  soul ;  and  so  loving  thee,  may  we 
keep  every  law  which  thou  writest  on  our  material 
bodies,  or  in  our  spiritual  soul,  and  live  blameless  and 
beautiful  in  thy  sight,  doing  the  duties  of  time,  yet 
conscious  of  eternity,  and  so  in  a  little  time  fulfilling  a 
great  time,  and  journeying  ever  forward  and  upward, 
till  we  are  transformed  into  that  perfect  image  of  thy- 
self, when  thy  truth  is  our  thought,  thy  justice  is  our 
will,  and  thy  love  is  the  law  of  our  daily  life,  as  we  go 
from  glory  to  glory.  So  lead  us  forward  through  the 
varying  good  and  ill  of  this  life,  and,  at  last,  when  we 
have  finished  our  course  on  earth,  and  the  clods  of  the 
valley  are  sweet  to  our  perishing  flesh,  then  wilt  thou 
clothe  us  with  the  garments  of  immortality,  and  take 
us  to  thyself,  ever  in  an  ascending  march  to  go  higher 
and  higher  in  those  glories  which  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man  conceived  of  in  its 
highest  golden  dream.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


102 


XXI. 

JANUARY  31,  1858. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and 
everywhere,  we  know  that  thou  rememberest  us, 
for  we  stand  forever  before  thy  throne,  and  thou 
needest  not  the  psalm  of  our  lips  nor  our  heart's  ascend- 
ing prayer  to  stir  thy  love  towards  us,  but  sometimes  in 
our  weakness  do  we  dream  that  thou  needest  to  be  en- 
treated, and  so  ask  thee  to  draw  nigh  to  us  ;  but  we 
know  it  is  for  us  to  draw  near  to  thee,  who  art  ever 
present  with  us,  about  us,  and  above  us  and  within.  O 
Thou  Perpetual  Presence,  we  thank  thee  for  thy  loving- 
kindness  and  tender  mercy,  in  the  consciousness  of  which 
we  would  spread  out  in  our  memory  the  recollection  of 
our  daily  lives,  the  wrong  deeds  we  do,  the  joys  we  de- 
light in,  the  duties  that  are  hard  to  be  done,  and  the 
high  hopes  that  kindle  heaven  within  our  heart ;  and 
while  we  muse  on  these  things  for  a  moment,  we  would 
so  adore  and  worship  thee  in  our  prayer  that  we  may 
serve  thee  always  in  our  daily  life. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  material  world  which 
thou  hast  placed  all  around  us,  underneath,  and  overhead. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  sun,  which  across  the  wintry  laud 


103 

pours  out  the  beauty  of  the  golden  day,  checkering  the 
year  with  exceeding  loveliness.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
night,  visited  with  troops  of  stars,  and  for  the  moon 
which  walks  in  brightness  from  the  East  to  the  West, 
gladdening  the  eyes  of  wakeful  men.  We  thank  thec 
for  the  wondrous  use  there  is  in  this  material  world, 
which  feeds  and  shelters  with  house  and  raiment  our 
mortal  flesh,  which  is  kind  with  medicines  to  our  vari- 
ous ailments,  and  furnishes  manifold  tools  for  our  toil 
and  thought. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  greater  world  of  spirit, 
whereof  thou  hast  created  us  in  thine  own  image  and 
likeness,  vested  with  immortality,  having  here  a  fore- 
taste of  everlasting  life.  We  thank  thee  for  our  body, 
so  curiously  and  wonderfully  made,  and  for  the  spirit, 
which  far  transcends  this  vast  material  world.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  mind,  which  loves  use  and  beauty 
and  truth  ;  for  this  conscience  which  would  know  right, 
and  the  overmastering  will  which  would  do  it  all  our 
days.  We  bless  thee  for  the  affections,  which  join  us 
to  some  bright  particular  star,  or  tie  us  to  some  pleasant 
nook  of  earth ;  which  ally  us  with  the  animals  about  us, 
and  most  tenderly  do  find  their  home  in  father  and 
mother,  in  lover  and  beloved,  husband  and  wife,  parent 
and  child,  and  all  the  sweet  companionships  which  glad- 
den our  earthly  loving  heart.  We  bless  thee  for  the 
feeling  infinite,  the  religious  soul  which  thou  hast  planted 
in  us,  of  higher  kinship  than  the  mind,  the  conscience, 
or  the  earthly  affections ;  yea,  we  thank  thee  for  thig 


104 

soul,  which  without  searching  can  find  out  thoe,  and 
hold  communion  with  thee  at  our  own  sweet  will,  re- 
ceiving blessed  inspiration  from  thy  presence,  which  is 
not  to  be  put  by. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  relation  which  thou  hast  estab- 
lished between  that  world  of  matter  which  is  without  us 
and  this  world  of  spirit  which  is  within  ;  and  we  thank 
thee  that  while  material  nature  furnishes  food  and  shel- 
ter, instruments  and  healing  to  our  mortal  flesh,  it  like- 
wise furnishes  far  higher  things  to  mind  and  conscience, 
and  to  heart  and  soul.  Yea,  we  bless  thee  that  thou 
hast  made  all  things  work  together  for  good  ;  that  while 
we  are  striving  with  prayer  and  toil  for  daily  bread, 
thou  givest  us  also  the  bread  of  life,  and  feedest  us 
with  spirit's  food,  and  so  nursest  us  upward  till  we 
grow  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  a  complete  and 
perfect  man.  O  Lord,  what  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful 
of  him  ?  Thou  hast  created  him  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels,  and  hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor  and 
immortality,  and  hast  put  all  things  underneath  his  feet. 

We  remember  our  daily  lives  before  thee,  the  wrong 
things  which  we  have  done,  and  the  unholy  thoughts 
and  evil  emotions  which  we  have  not  only  suffered  in 
our  hearts  but  cherished  there.  We  pray  thee  that 
thou  wilt  chasten  us  for  these  things,  and  we  may  suffer 
and  smart  therefor  till  we  turn  from  every  wrong,  and 
with  new  life  efface  the  scars  of  ancient  wickedness 
wherewith  we  have  stained  and  deformed  our  conscious- 
ness. 


105 

We  remember  before  thee  the  special  blessings  thou 
hast  given,  and  while  we  would  not  forget  thy  hand, 
which  feedeth  us  forever  and  forever,  we  would  let  our 
hearts,  when  filled  with  gratitude  to  thee,  run  over  with 
their  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  to  mankind,  till 
our  hands  also  are  filled  with  good  deeds,  whereby  we' 
hold  communion  with  our  brother-men. 

We  remember  the  stern  sorrows  which  thou  givest 
us,  the  cup  of  bitterness  oft-time  pressed  to  our  lips,  the 
trials  which  await  us  in  our  business  and  perplex  our 
understanding  ;  we  remember  the  sorrows  which  stain 
our  eyes  with  tears  when  thou  changest  the  countenance 
of  our  dear  ones,  and  lover  and  friend  are  put  far  from 
us,  and  our  acquaintance  into  darkness.  O  Father  in 
heaven,  O  Mother  on  earth  and  in  heaven  too,  we  thank 
thee  that  we  know  that  it  is  unto  brightness,  and  not 
darkness,  that  thou  ferriest  our  acquaintance  over,  car- 
rying our  dear  ones  into  thine  own  kingdom  of  heaven. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect 
already,  and  for  those  whom,  in  infinite  progression, 
thou  leadest  forward  from  the  stain  of  earthly  sin  to 
that  purity  and  peifection  which  the  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  the  ear  heard,  nor  our  human  hearts  but  poorly, 
dimly  felt. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  that  while  earthly  things  per- 
ish and  pass  away,  and  we  know  not  what  a  day  shall 
bring  forth,  we  are  sure  of  thine  infinite  power,  wisdom, 
justice,  and  love,  and  when  our  mortal  decays  and  passes 
down  to  the  sides  of  the  pit,  and  the  clods  of  the  valley 


106 

are  sweet  to  our  perishing  frame,  we  thank  thee  that 
we  still  feel  thy  presence  as  not  to  be  put  by,  and  the 
calm  still  voice  of  thy  spirit  pleads  with  us,  teaching  of 
duty  and  assuring  us  of  its  infinite  reward. 

O  Father  in  heaven,  we  will  not  ask  thee  to  work  a 
riiracle  and  draw  nigh  to  us,  thou  who  art  ever  living 
in  our  life  and  moving  in  our  motion,  and  yet  trans- 
cending time  and  space.  But  we  pray  thee  that  there 
be  such  action  of  our  noblest  part  that  we  shall  think 
truth,  that  we  shall  know  right  and  will  it  all  our 
days,  that  we  shall  love  things  given  us  to  love,  and 
grow  in  our  affection  stronger  and  stronger  to  our 
brother  men,  closer  and  closer  knit ;  and  may  there  be 
such  action  of  our  soul  that  we  shall  know  thee  as  thou 
art,  and  live  with  a  perpetual  income  of  thy  spirit  to 
ourselves,  even  in  our  sleep  thou  giving  to  thy  beloved, 
and  we  receiving  from  our  Father  and  our  Mother, 
whose  warmth  shall  make  us  warm,  whose  life  is  our 
living.  Day  by  day  may  we  pass  from  the  glory  of  a 
good  beginning  to  the  greater  glory  of  a  noble  end,  and 
when  at  last  thou  hast  served  thyself  with  our  mortal 
bodies,  may  we  lay  them  in  the  dust,  whence  these  gar- 
ments of  the  soul  were  taken  first,  and  clothed  with  im- 
mortality, fly  upwards,  onwards  unto  thee.  So  may  thy 
kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven. 


107 


XXII. 

FEBRUARY    14,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  One,  who  art  a  perpetual  pres- 
ence above  us,  and  about  us,  and  within,  we  would 
draw  near  unto  thee,  who  art  not  far  from  any  one 
of  us,  and  with  a  consciousness  of  thy  presence  would 
remember  before  thee  all  the  blessings  thou  hast  given 
us,  the  duties  which  we  are  to  do,  the  crosses  which 
must  be  borne,  the  joys  we  delight  in,  and  the  sorrows 
which  afflict  us;  remembering  these  things,  we  would  so 
worship  thee  for  a  moment  that  we  may  serve  thee  all 
the  days  of  our  lives.  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven, 
whither  shall  we  flee  from  thy  presence,  whither  shall 
we  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  If  we  take  the  wings  of  the 
morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea, 
even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  us,  and  thy  right  hand 
shall  hold  us  up.  We  thank  thee  for  thy  loving  kind- 
ness and  thy  tender  mercy,  which  are  over  all  thy  ways, 
beneath  which  we  can  lay  us  down  and  sleep  in  safety, 
and  when  we  awake  we  are  still  with  thee. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  nature  thou  hast  given 
us,  for  its  vast  powers  to  know  truth  and  beauty,  to  find 
out  the  eternal  right,  to  love  one  another  with  the 


108 

strength  of  our  affections,  and  to  know  thee,  who  art 
our  Father  and  our  Mother,  and  to  cleave  unto  theo 
with  an  absolute  trust,  which  knows  no  turning  nor  fall- 
ing away. 

O  Lord,  we  remember  before  thee  thine  own  pres- 
ence in  the  world  of  matter,  and  in  the  consciousness 
of  our  own  soul.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  speakest 
in  this  Old  Testament  of  the  world  of  nature,  and  in 
this  New  Testament  of  man's  spirit  makest  yet  more 
glorious  revelations  of  thyself;  and  while  there  pro- 
claiming thy  power,  thy  law,  thy  wisdom,  here  in  our 
hearts  thou  tellest  ever  of  thy  justice  and  thy  love, 
thine  infinite  perfection  which  thou  art.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  great  revelations  thou  hast  made  through 
the  human  sense  and  human  soul  in  times  past.  We 
bless  thee  for  the  great  men  and  women  whom  thou 
hast  gifted  so  liberally  with  genius  that  they  have  be- 
come great  philosophers,  poets,  and  teachers  of  morality 
to  mankind,  in  whose  soul  thine  own  image  has  been 
mirrored  down  and  reflected  back  to  men.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  prophets  and  apostles  who,  in  all  lands  and 
in  every  age,  through  the  inspiration  thou  didst  nor- 
mally put  on  them,  have  been  a  guiding  and  shining 
light  unto  their  brothers. 

We  thank  thee  that  not  only  unto  great  men  hast 
thou  revealed  thyself,  but  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes 
and  sucklings  hast  thou  perfected  thy  praise,  the  little 
teaching  the  great,  and  the  few  instructing  the  many. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  millions  of  common  men  and 


109 

women,  their  names  to  mankind  all  unknown,  who 
with  great  faithfulness  of  soul  have  looked  upwards 
and  found  thee,  and  with  the  daily  beauty  of  their 
lives  have  revealed  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy  to  the  world  of  men. 

Above  all  others,  do  we  thank  thee  for  that  great 
and  noble  man  who  in  days  of  darkness  and  extreme 
peril  thou  raisedst  up,  and  through  his  genius  didst 
inspire  with  so  much  of  truth,  and  justice,  and  philan- 
thropy, and  faith  in  thee.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
words  of  truth  which  he  spoke,  for  the  sentiments  of 
noble  piety  and  philanthropy  which  came  out  not  only 
in  his  speech,  but  in  the  daily  works  of  his  handsome 
life ;  and  we  bless  thee  that  his  words  and  the  memory 
of  his  life  have  come  down  to  us  to  kindle  our  hope, 
to  stir  our  aspirations,  and  to  strengthen  our  faith  in 
man. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  not  only  for  all  these  things 
which  are  behind  us,  but  that  still  to  the  human  soul 
thou  impartest  thyself,  giving  truth  to  all  who  use  their 
minds  aright,  revealing  justice  to  every  one,  warming 
each  faithful  heart  with  love,  and  revealing  thyself  to 
whoso  with  honest  purpose  looks  up  and  seeks  after 
thee.  We  thank  thee  for  all  truth  which  we  have 
learned  of  thee,  for  every  emotion  of  pious  gratitude 
and  holy  trust  which  has  sprung  up  within  our  heart ; 
and  if  we  have  achieved  any  elevation  of  character  and 
done  any  good  deeds  in  our  lives,  we  thank  thee,  who 
givest  to  us  all  in  our  nature  so  liberally,  and  demand- 


110 

est  of  us  only  the  duties  which  our  strength  is  equal  to, 
and  which  raise  us  to  greater  and  greater  powers  of 
strength  by  the  doing  thereof. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  own  daily  lives,  thank- 
ing thee  for  the  reward  which  comes  as  the  result  of 
our  toil.  We  bless  thee  for  the  friends  near  and  dear, 
by  whatsoever  name  they  are  called,  still  bone  of  our 
bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  or  spirit  of  our  soul.  We 
thank  thee  that  in  our  sorrows  thou  art  an  ever-present 
help,  not  far  from  us,  but  exceeding  near,  and  the 
thought  of  thee  not  only  confirms  us  for  our  duty,  but 
refines  us  till  we  are  able  to  bear  the  exceeding  sorrows 
oft  laid  on  us.  We  bless  thee  for  the  glorious  hope 
which  spreads  out  before  us,  for  the  consciousness  of 
everlasting  life  which  comes  as  the  innermost  fact  of 
our  inward  soul.  We  thank  thee  that  in  a  world  where 
things  deceive  our  expectations,  we  are  sure  of  thee, 
and  certain  of  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy,  and  the  infinite  heaven  which  spreads  out  be- 
fore us. 

We  pray  thee  that  there  may  be  in  us  such  knowl- 
edge of  thee,  such  love  and  trust  in  thee,  that  all  our 
days  we  shall  serve  thee  with  blameless  and  earnest 
work.  May  we  do  the  duties  thou  givest  to  be  done, 
and  bear  any  crosses  laid  upon  us,  in  such  manly  and 
womanly  sort,  that  by  toil  and  suffering  we  shall  grow 
wiser  and  better  every  day.  Help  us  to  distinguish 
between  the  commandments  of  erring  men  and  the 
everlasting  commandments  of  thy  law,  which  thy  spirit 


HI 

writes  on  the  world  of  matter  and  publishes  in  thia 
world  of  spirit.  Day  by  day  may  we  grow  wiser  and 
justt-r,  stronger  in  our  righteous  will,  more  loving  in 
our  affections,  while  our  emotions  towards  thee  become 
continually  more  and  moro  beautiful,  and  blessed  still 
the  more. 

We  remember  before  thee  all  men,  our  brothers 
everywhere,  and  pray  thee  that  by  our  truth  and  our 
lives  we  may  do  something  to  lift  the  cloud  of  darkness 
which  blinds  men's  eyes,  and  to  strike  off  the  fetters 
which  chain  the  mind  or  which  manacle  the  limbs.  So 
by  our  life  may  we  serve  thee,  who  art  not  to  be  worship- 
ped as  though  thou  neededst  anything,  and  here  on  earth 
may  we  pass  from  glory  to  glory,  till,  when  thou  hast 
finished  thy  work  with  us  below,  thou  layest  our  bodies 
in  the  dust,  and  clothest  us  with  immortality,  and,  ar- 
rayed in  that  wedding-garment,  takest  us  home  to  thy- 
self, to  pass  from  the  glory  of  the  earthly  to  the  greater 
glory  of  the  heavenly,  and  enter  into  those  joys  which 
eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man 
can  fully  comprehend.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and 
thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


112 


XXIII. 

FEBRUARY  28,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  possessest  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  and  fillest  the  chambers  of  the 
day  with  thy  glorious  presence,  we  would  draw 
near  unto  thee,  and  worship  thee  with  the  homage  of 
grateful  hearts,  thanking  thee  for  the  favors  for  whiclj 
thou  askest  not  our  gratitude,  and  communing  with  thy 
spirit  face  to  face.  In  our  darkness  and  our  feebleness 
we  turn  ourselves  unto  thee,  seeking  to  feel  thee  nearer 
and  more  intimately  in  our  souls,  and  so  to  worship  in 
our  morning  prayer  that  thy  sunlight  shall  shine  upon 
our  heads,  and  in  the  light  thereof  we  shall  journey 
all  our  days,  serving  thee  with  a  perfect  service  and 
a  manly  trust. 

0  Thou  who  givest  us  all  things  so  richly  to  enjoy, 
we  thank  thee  for  the  world  wherein  thou  hast  cast  the 
lines  of  our  lot.  We  bless  thee  for  the  night,  where 
the  moon  walks  in  beauty,  and  star  unto  star  proclaims 
thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy,  wherewith 
thou  fillest  up  the  world  of  space,  and  embracest  not 
less  the  all  of  time.  We  thank  thee  for  the  handsome 
day,  which  this  great  star  pours  down  from  heaven, 


113 

bringing  the  touch  of  Spring  to  our  cold  Northern 
land>.  and  wak'ng  the  newly-ventured  birds  to  their 
earliest  vernal  song.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all 
the  beauty  of  the  year,  for  the  wondrous  world  which 
is  under  our  feet,  and  above  our  heads,  and  round  us 
on  every  side. 

We  thank  thee  for  these  bodies  of  ours,  builded  up 
from  material  things,  so  curiously  and  so  wonderfully 
made ;  we  thank  thee  for  the  power  which  thou  givest 
them,  and  all  their  various  weapons  for  toil  and  for  de- 
fence. We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  soul  thou  hast 
enthroned  herein,  this  divine  spark,  enchanting  with 
its  life  this  handful  of  material  dust.  We  thank  thee 
that  thou  hast  created  us  in  thine  own  image,  and  hast 
given  us  the  power  over  these  material  things,  over  the 
earth  under  our  feet,  and  the  elements  that  are  above 
us,  and  about  us  on  every  hand. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  large  mind,  rejoicing  in  use, 
in  beauty,  and  in  science  not  the  less.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  power  thou  givest  us  from  this  material  world 
to  build  up  our  bodies,  strong  and  handsome  temples, 
wherein  thy  spirit  dwells  in  the  human  form,  incarnat- 
ing itself  in  so  many  millions  and  millions  of  thy  daugh- 
ters and  thy  sons.  We  thank  thee  for  these  senses, 
through  which  the  soul  looks  out  upon  the  world,  and 
at  these  various  windows  takes  knowledge  in,  and  learns 
so  much  of  thy  works,  and  has  communion  with  thine 
infinite  joy  in  the  world  of  matter  which  thou  hast 
made. 

8 


114 

We  thank  thee  for  this  conscience,  with  its  power  to 
know  right,  and  its  will  to  do  right,  and  we  bless  thee 
that  only  thine  own  unchanging  higher  law  of  right 
can  satisfy  it,  yearning  for  the  first  good,  first  perfect, 
and  first  fair.  We  thank  thee  that  through  this  facully 
we  hold  communion  with  thine  everlasting  righteous- 
ness, and  can  live  by  thy  commandment,  which  is  ex- 
ceeding broad,  and  hath  neither  variableness  nor  the 
shadow  of  a  turn. 

We  thank  thee  for  these  affections,  whereby  we  love 
those  about  us,  and  knit  many  tender  ties  which  join  us 
each  to  each,  and  all  to  one  another.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  love  which  joins  those  that  are  of  the  same  na- 
tion or  community,  for  the  kindred  blood  which  throbs 
in  mutual  hearts.  We  bless  thee  for  the  affection 
which  makes  the  lover  and  his  beloved  to  rejoice  to- 
gether, giving  welfare  to  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride, 
to  wife  and  husband.  We  thank  thee  for  all  the  sweet 
felicities  which  come  from  the  relation  of  friend  to  friend, 
and  parent  to  child,  for  the  many  joys  which  cluster 
round  our  heart,  and  shine  like  morning  light  within 
the  humblest  or  the  proudest  home. 

We  thank  thee  that  in  addition  to  all  these  things 
thou  givest  us  power  to  know  thee,  to  trust  thee  and  to 
love  thee,  with  a  faith  that  knows  no  change,  save  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  it  brightens  into  the  perfect  day  of 
piety  and  its  serenest  joy.  We  thank  thee  that  amidst 
a  world  of  things  which  are  changing,  we  are  sure  of 
thine  infinite  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy,  and 


115 

even  in  darkness  we  can  trust  thee,  knowing  that  thy 
fatherly  and  motherly  arm  is  about  us,  leading  us  from 
strength  to  strength,  ready  to  uphold  us  when  we  totter 
and  to  lift  us  up  when  we  fall  down.  O  Thou  Infinite 
One,  we  know  no  words  to  tell  thee  the  deep  emotions 
of  our  heart,  the  joys  of  our  piety,  and  the  holy  trust 
we  place  in  thee  ;  and  thou  needest  no  words,  nor  ask- 
est  thou  the  prayer  or  psalm  of  thanksgiving  from  our 
heart,  for  thou  art  behind  us  and  before,  and  above  us 
and  below,  and  about  us  and  within,  and  understandest 
every  thought  before  our  words  express  it  in  the  ear. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  duties  thou  givest  us 
to  do,  and  we  pray  thee  that  with  earnest  faithfulness 
we  may  do  them  all.  May  we  bear  any  cross  thou  lay- 
est  on  us  which  must  be  borne,  with  reverent  patience, 
growing  stronger  from  every  affliction  wherewith  thou 
triest  us.  When  those  near  and  dear  are  severed  from 
our  side,  and  the  shadow  of  death  falls  on  the  empty 
place  of  our  friend,  we  would  remember  that  other 
world,  where  all  tears  are  wiped  from  every  eye,  and 
thy  children  pass  from  the  greater  glory  to  the  greatest, 
as  they  are  led  in  infinite  progression  by  thy  hand. 

We  remember  the  joys  thou  givest  us,  and  while  we 
taste  them,  we  pray  that  our  hearts  may  be  filled  with 
bounty  towards  all,  and  we  may  do  good  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  strength  which  thou  givest  us. 

We  remember  our  daily  lives,  and  pray  thee  that  by 
bearing  what  must  be  borne,  and  doing  what  thou  giv« 
3St  us  to  do,  we  may  build  ourselves  up  to  higher  and 


116 

higher  heights  of  human  excellence.  May  we  grow 
wiser  and  more  just,  be  filled  with  more  loving-kind- 
ness to  our  brother  men,  and  have  a  heartier  and  a 
holier  love  and  trust  in  thee.  May  no  success  in  this 
world's  affairs  ever  harden  our  heart,  but  make  us 
more  noble  and  more  generous,  and  may  the  world's 
sorrow  and  sickness  and  grief  and  disappointment  and 
loss  only  rouse  up  the  better  soul  that  is  in  us,  till  we 
triumph  over  affliction,  and  have  gained  the  victory 
over  death.  Thus  in  our  souls  may  there  be  such  a 
bud  of  piety  as  shall  open  and  bloom  out  into  the  fra- 
grant flower  of  morality  in  our  daily  lives,  and  while 
it  thus  blossoms  broad  in  use,  may  it  bear  seed  with- 
in itself  which  shall  last  forever  and  forever.  So  fin- 
ish thou  thy  work  with  us  here  below,  and  when  it  is 
done  and  ended,  wilt  thou  take  us  to  thyself,  to  be  with 
thee  forever,  and  so  to  be  transfigured  into  higher  and 
higher  likenesses  of  thy  spirit,  and  pass  from  glory  to 
glory  forever  and  ever.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come 
and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


117 


XXIV. 

MARCH  14,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  One,  we  flee  unto  thee,  and  for 
a  moment  would  be  penetrated  with  the  thought 
of  thy  presence,  and  so  worship  thee  in  the  up- 
lifting of  our  hearts  that  we  may  serve  thee  with  our 
hands  all  the  days  of  our  mortal  lives. 

We  thank  thee  for  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  ten- 
der mercy,  which  are  new  every  morning  and  fresh 
every  evening,  and  which  fail  not  at  noonday.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  world  that  is  about  us,  and  above 
us,  and  beneath  us,  full  of  thy  presence  in  every  star 
of  heaven  and  every  flower  of  earth.  We  bless  thee 
for  the  other  world  which  ourselves  are,  whereto  this 
sphere  of  matter  is  but  outward  resting-place  and  en- 
vironment, and  we  thank  thee  that  our  souls  are  like- 
wise the  temple  of  thy  spirit,  and  thou  it  is  who  giv- 
est  us  life  and  breath  and  all  things  richly  to  enjoy. 
We  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  created  us  from  perfect 
love,  and  watchest  over  us  with  such  causal  providence 
that  thou  makest  all  things  work  together  for  good,  and 
wilt  lose  no  child  of  perdition  from  thy  mighty  human 
flock,  but  wilt  lead  thy  children  by  the  hand,  and  those 


118 

who  cannot  walk  thou  wilt  bear  in  thine  arms,  and 
bring  them  all  at  last  to  never-ending  bliss.  O  Thou, 
who  art  Perfect  Love,  we  thank  thee  for  thyself,  and, 
sure  of  thine  infinite  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy,  we  know  that  we  cannot  fail,  and  having  thee, 
all  else  needful  are  we  sure  of  beside. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  glorious  nature  which  thou 
hast  given  us,  that  thou  hast  blessed  us  with  such  large 
faculties,  to  know  what  is  useful  and  beautiful  and  true, 
to  understand  what  is  just  and  right  before  thine  eyes ; 
and  with  this  affection  whereby  we  love  each  other, 
and  are  joined  by  manifold  tender  ties  to  those  who 
are  dear  to  us,  however  far  remote  in  time  and  space. 
We  thank  thee  for  this  great  and  overmastering  power 
whereby  we  know  thee  and  commune  with  thee,  thy 
spirit  inspiring  our  spirit,  and  thy  providence  uphold- 
ing us  when  we  totter,  and  uplifting  us  when  we  fall. 
Father,  we  thank  thee  for  all  these  things,  and  our 
words  know  not  how  to  praise  thee  as  our  hearts  so 
gladly  would,  but  we  know  that  thou  needest  no  words 
from  our  heart,  no  psalm  from  our  lips,  for  thou  un- 
derstandest  u.-;,  knowing  the  words  of  our  mouth  be- 
fore they  are  conceived  in  our  heart. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  manner  of  blessings  which 
thou  givest  us.  We  bless  thee  for  the  things  needful 
to  the  body,  for  our  health  and  our  strength,  our  bread 
by  day,  our  nightly  sleep,  and  the  work  which  our  hands 
find  to  do,  whereby  our  bodies  are  clothed  with  raiment 
and  our  mouths  are  satisfied  with  bread.  We  thank 


119 

thce  for  the  instruction  which  comes  to  mind  and  to 
conscience  from  our  daily  toil.  We  bless  thee  for  those 
who  are  near  to  our  heart,  whether  by  our  side  or  far 
removed,  or  separated  even  by  the  gates  of  death. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  ascended  spirits  that  were  once 
with  us  on  earth,  lifting  their  eyes  upon  the  sun,  tak- 
ing sweet  counsel  with  us,  and  walking  to  thine  house 
in  company.  We  bless  thee  for  all  good  and  noble 
men  and  women,  who  from  time  to  time  come  up  in 
thy  providence,  to  teach  nations  the  way  in  which  they 
should  walk,  and  to  call  many  from  wickedness  to  the 
ways  of  justice,  which  lead  to  such  blessedness  on  earth 
and  beyond  the  world.  We  thank  thee  for  ages  past, 
for  the  childhood  of  mankind,  and  for  any  words  of 
simplicity  and  truth  which  have  come  down  to  us 
from  ancient  days.  We  thank  thee  for  the  primal 
virtues  which  shine  aloft  as  stars,  and  not  less  for  the 
charities  which  heal  and  soothe  and  bless,  and  are 
scattered  at  man's  living  feet  like  flowers.  We  bless 
thee  for  the  great  truths  which  have  come  down  to  us 
on  their  sounding  way  through  the  ages,  encourag- 
ing and  strengthening  men.  We  thank  thee  for  poets 
and  prophets  and  mighty  men  of  thought  and  of  piety, 
who  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  thine  all-wakening 
spirit,  and  brought  truth  to  mankind ;  and  we  thank 
thee  that  in  our  own  day,  not  less,  thy  spirit  still  works 
with  the  children  of  men,  0  Thou,  who  art  the  head, 
and  dost  every  joint  supply,  and  art  always  present  in 
the  world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  man. 


120 

We  thank  thee  for  all  these  things,  and  we  pray  thee 
that  we  may  strengthen  ourselves  mightily  with  thy 
spirit  in  our  inner  man.  May  we  turn  off  our  eyes 
from  loving  evil  things,  and  withhold  our  hand  from 
every  unclean  and  ungodly  work.  May  we  build  our- 
selves up  to  the  measure  of  a  perfect  man,  growing 
continually  to  a  higher  image  and  likeness  whereafter 
thou  hast  created  us.  May  there  be  in  us  such  love 
of  thee,  such  faith  in  thee,  and  such  obedience  towards 
thee,  that  we  shall  keep  every  law  thou  hast  written 
on  our  bodies  or  in  our  souls.  Thus  may  we  learn 
thy  truth,  and  may  it  set  us  free  alike  from  the  dark- 
ness of  old  times  and  the  error  of  our  own  days. 
May  we  learn  what  is  right  and  do  thy  will,  with  all 
the  strength  that  is  in  us,  and  while  we  ask  thee  to 
love  us,  may  we  love  our  brothers  as  we  love  our- 
selves, and  grow  constantly  in  the  practice  of  every 
religious  duty,  and  the  doing  of  every  manly  work. 
Thus  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done 
en  r,?.rtli  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


121 


XXV. 

MARCH  21,  1858. 

OTHOU  who  art  everywhere,  we  would  feel  thy 
presence  at  our  heart,  and  lift  up  our  spirit  unto 
thee,  seeking  to  hold  communion  with  thee,  and 
be  strengthened  for  duties,  for  sorrows,  and  for  joys. 
For  a  moment  we  would  remember  in  thy  presence 
the  lives  that  we  lead,  the  works  thou  givest  us  to  do, 
our  short-comings,  or  any  success  that  is  in  us ;  and 
while  we  muse  on  these  things  may  the  fire  of  devo- 
tion burn  within  our  heart  and  so  stir  us  that  from 
our  moment  of  worship  we  may  learn  to  serve  thee 
all  the  days  of  our  lives. 

O  Thou,  who  art  our  Father  and  our  Mother,  we 
thank  thee  for  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  tender 
mercy,  which  are  over  all  thy  works.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  causest  thy  sun  to  shine  on  the  evil 
and  on  the  good,  and  sendest  thy  rain  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust.  We  bless  thee  that  with  fatherly  prov- 
idence, with  motherly  love,  thou  carest  for  the  enlight- 
ened people  of  the  earth,  and  not  less  for  those  whom 
savage  ignorance  hath  held  blinded  so  long.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  lovest  thy  saint,  and  also  every  sinner, 


122 

who  is  also  a  child  of  thine,  and  wilt  suffer  no  son  of 
perdition  in  thy  great  family,  whom  thou  blessest  with 
thyself. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  special  providence  which  is 
over  everything  which  thou  hast  created,  and  wherein 
thou  residest  with  all  thine  infinite  perfections.  We 
bless  thee  for  the  rain  which  to-day  thou  sheddest  out 
of  the  sweet  heavens,  to  warm  the  long-chilled  bosom 
of  the  ground,  to  swell  the  buds  on  every  tree,  and  to 
waken  the  flowers  of  prophecy  on  all  our  Northern 
hills  and  in  our  valleys,  which  are  full  of  the  promise 
of  Spring.  We  bless  thee  that,  while  thou  givest  us 
the  earth  underneath  our  feet  and  the  heavens  above 
our  head,  both  in  that  which  is  beneath,  and  that 
which  is  above,  and  not  less,  0  Lord,  in  that  which 
is  within  us,  thou  thyself  residest  forever,  and  mani- 
festest  thyself  to  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men. 
We  thank  thee  that  in  the  midst  of  human  darkness 
thou  art  an  ever-glorious  light,  shining  forever  in  thy 
beauty.  We  thank  thee  that  out  of  seeming  evil  thou 
still  educest  good,  and  better  thence  again,  in  thine 
own  infinite  progression,  and  so  leadest  thy  children 
ever  upwards,  and  forward  forever.  We  thank  thee 
that  even  the  wrath  of  man  is  made  to  serve  thee, 
and  the  remainder  of  wrath  thou  dost  restrain^  mak- 
ing all  things  work  together  at  last  for  good.  We 
thank  thee  that  thou  carest  for  us  all,  that  in  our  day 
of  joy  we  know  it  is  thou  who  fillest  our  cup,  by 
giving  us  the  faculties  which  make  it  run  over  at  the 


123 

brim.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  art  with  us  in  our 
days  of  hardship  and  of  calamity,  that  when  our  own 
heart  cries  out  against  us,  thou  art  greater  than  our 
heart,  and,  understanding  all  things,  blessest  us  in 
secret  ways ;  and  when  we  are  cast  down,  and  go 
stooping  and  feeble,  with  hungering  eyes  and  a  failing 
heart,  that  thou  still  art  with  us,  and  leadest  us  from 
strength  to  strength,  and  blessest  us  continually. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  daily  works  where- 
in we  are  engaged,  the  perplexities  of  our  business, 
abroad  or  at  home,  and  we  pray  that  we  may  have 
such  strength  of  faithfulness  to  thee  that  the  dark 
shall  appear  light  to  us,  and  the  crooked  shall  become 
straight,  and  the  way  of  duty  so  plain  before  our  face 
that  we  cannot  err  therein. 

We  remember  the  sorrows  with  which  we  are  tried, 
the  grievous  disappointments  that  are  laid  upon  us ; 
yea,  we  remember  that  thou  takest  from  us  our  lover 
and  acquaintance,  those  with  whom  we  took  sweet 
counsel,  and  walked  to  thy  house  in  company.  We 
remember  before  thee  their  immortality  and  our  own, 
and  we  thank  thee  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  which 
arches  over  us,  and  sheds  down  its  sweet  influence  from 
on  high  to  encourage  and  to  draw  us  up.  And  in  days 
of  sorrow  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  have  a  quicken- 
ing sense  of  this  spiritual  world  whereto  our  faces  are 
set,  which  is  the  appointed  end  of  our  earthly  pilgrim- 
age. 

Father,  we  remember  our  own  souls  before  thee ;  we 


124 

know  how  often  we  have  been  forgetful  of  the  duty  which 
thou  demanded  of  us,  that  we  have  often  cherished  un- 
worthy feelings,  and  have  not  felt  that  love  to  our  brother 
men  which  we  should  have  felt,  or  which  we  have  asked 
of  thee.  Yea,  we  remember  that  we  have  stained  our 
hands  by  doing  wrong  things,  and  defiled  the  integrity 
of  our  own  consciousness,  and  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  smart  for  every  offence  which  we  commit  against 
thee,  till,  greatly  ashamed  of  our  folly  and  our  mean- 
ness, we  pass  off  from  the  unholy  ways  which  are  evil 
and  lead  to  evil,  and  turn  to  those  which  are  pleasant- 
ness and  lead  to  eternal  blessedness  beyond  the  grave. 
Father,  we  thank  thee  for  any  suffering  which  comes 
upon  us  for  wrong  doings,  knowing  that  thereby  thou 
recallest  us  from  the  evil  of  our  ways,  and  would  save 
our  souls  from  suffering  yet  worse. 

And  we  pray  thee  that  this  religious  faculty  may  be 
so  strongly  active  within  us  that  we  shall  never  fear 
thee,  but  a  perfect  love  may  cast  out  fear,  and  we  know 
thee  as  thou  art  in  thine  infinite  perfection,  the  Father 
and  Mother  of  our  soul  in  our  every  hour  of  need, 
which  is  our  every  hour  of  life ;  and  may  we  have 
such  love  for  thee,  such  faith  towards  thee,  and  live 
such  a  life  in  thee,  that  within  us  all  shall  be  blameless 
and  beautiful,  every  faculty  performing  its  several  and 
appointed  work,  and  all  our  outward  lives  shall  be  as 
harmonious  as  the  stars  in  their  courses,  and  full  of 
continual  use  to  our  brother  men. 

O  Thou  who  needest  not  to  be  entreated,  we  do  not 


125 

ask  of  thee  new  talents,  for  thou  hast  given  what  thou 
sawest  fit ;  nor  do  we  entreat  thee  to  do  for  us  what 
thou  hast  given  us  power  to  do ;  but,  conscious  of  thy 
presence,  feeling  the  great  gifts  which  thou  hast  be- 
stowed upon  us,  and  the  perpetual  income  of  thv  spirit, 
we  would  use  every  faculty  which  thou  hast  given  for 
its  appropriate  work,  and  so  pass  from  childhood  to 
manhood,  from  glory  to  glory,  till  thou,  finishing  thy 
work  with  us  here,  shall  take  us  to  thyself,  to  pass 
from  the  greater  glory  to  the  greatest,  by  a  continual 
transfiguration  of  ourselves  to  thine  image  and  thy 
likeness.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


126 


XXVI. 

MARCH  28,  1858. 

OTHOU  who  art  everywhere,  and  needest  not  to 
be  entreated,  nor  askest  the  bending  of  our  knees, 
nor  the  prayer  of  our  lips,  nor  our  heart's  psalm 
unto  thee,  we  would  draw  near  to  thee  for  a  moment, 
who  art  always  near  unto  us.  We  would  remember  the 
blessings  thou  givest  us,  the  duties  thou  demandest,  the 
sorrows  we  are  tried  withal,  or  the  offences  which  we 
commit ;  and  while  we  muse  on  these  things,  may  the 
fire  of  gratitude  and  devotion  be  kindled  on  our  altar, 
and  our  souls  flame  up  towards  thee,  like  incense  from 
the  altars  of  the  just.  From  the  moment  of  our  com- 
munion with  thee  may  we  gather  such  strength  that  we 
shall  worship  thee  always  by  a  constant  service  from 
day  to  day. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and 
everywhere,  we  thank  thee  for  the  world  of  matter 
under  our  feet,  and  over  our  head,  and  about  us  on 
every  side.  We  thank  thee  for  the  night  which  hung 
the  curtains  of  darkness  about  us,  whereunder  we 
could  lay  us  down  and  sleep  in  safety,  and  that  when 
we  awoke  we  were  etill  with  thee.  We  thank  thee  for 


127 

the  moon  which  walked  in  beauty,  and  checkered  the 
darkness  with  her  comely  light,  and  we  bless  thee  for 
the  sun  which  from  his  golden  urn  pours  day  across  the 
world,  wanning  and  blessing  everything  with  his  sweet 
angelic  touch.  We  thank  thee,  0  Lord,  for  the  bread 
we  eat,  for  the  garments  we  put  on,  for  the  houses 
which  hold  us,  for  the  sleep  which  all  night  slides  into 
our  bones,  bringing  strength  to  the  weary,  and  health 
to  the  sick  ;  arid  we  bless  thee  for  the  day  full  of  toil 
and  opportunities  for  munly  endeavor. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  vast  gifts  which  thou  hast  be- 
stowed upon  us,  for  these  bodies  so  curiously  and  won- 
derfully made,  as  a  temple  for  a  spirit  more  wondrous 
and  far  more  curiously  made  to  dwell  therein  awhile, 
enchanting  the  dust  into  wise  and  human  life.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  ever-questioning  mind,  which  hun- 
gers for  use  and  truth  and  beauty,  wherewith  thon  feed- 
est  us  from  age  to  age.  We  bless  thee  for  this  large 
conscience,  which  seeks  for  justice,  wherewith  thou  dosl 
enlighten  our  eyes  and  quicken  what  is  innermost  with- 
in us.  We  thank  thee  for  these  self-denying  affec- 
tions, which  reach  out  unto  friends  and  kinsfolk,  unto 
lover  and  beloved,  parent  and  child,  to  countrymen, 
yea,  which  spread  out  their  arms  to  those  that  are 
needy  everywhere.  We  thank  thee  for  this  religious 
faculty,  which  through  the  darkness  looks  up  to  thee 
and  is  filled  with  thy  light,  and  we  bless  thee  that  in 
our  hour  of  sorrow  it  brings  to  us  exceeding  tranquil- 
lity and  hope  and  strength.  We  thank  thee  for  the 


128 

dear  and  tender  joys  which  are  born  in  our  innermost 
of  consciousness,  which  dwell  there  and  fill  the  whole 
temple  of  our  inner  life  with  that  presence  which  can- 
not be  put  by,  which  is  a  blessing  to  us  by  darkness 
and  by  day.  We  thank  thee,  Father  in  heaven,  for 
all  the  good  which  has  come  from  these  great  talents 
thou  hast  blessed  us  withal.  We  thank  thee  that  in 
every  age  and  every  land  thou  givest  open  vision  of 
thyself  to  thy  children,  and  in  the  things  that  are  seen 
mirrorest  thine  own  image,  O  Thou  whom  the  mortal 
eye  cannot  see,  but  whom  our  heart  enfolds  within  itself, 
which  is  blessed  by  thy  touch.  We  thank  thee  for 
great  philosophers  and  prophets  and  poets,  mighty  men 
and  women,  whom  thou  hast  blessed  with  large  genius, 
who  in  many  an  age  have  gathered  truth  and  justice, 
and  taught  love,  and  lived  blameless  piety  ;  we  thank 
thee  for  the  revelations  of  manhood  they  have  made 
to  us,  and  the  revelations  of  thine  own  spirit  which 
through  them  have  shone  upon  our  heart.  And  for  the 
greatest  of  them  all,  as  we  fondly  dream,  we  thank 
thee,  —  for  him  who  taught  so  much  of  truth,  and  lived 
so  much  of  piety  in  his  soul,  and  blameless  benevolence 
in  his  outward  life  ;  we  bless  thee  for  his  words  of 
soberness,  for  his  life  of  sacrifice  and  of  duty,  and  all 
the  gladness  and  joy  which  therefrom  has  come  to  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  men.  We  thank  thee  not  less 
for  the  millions  of  unremembered  souls  of  men  and  wom- 
en, who  in  their  common  callings  of  earth  were  faithful 
to  the  light  which  shone  upon  them,  howsoever  dim  ;  and 


129 

we  bless  thee  that  by  their  stripes  we  are  healed,  and 
we  also  have  entered  into  their  labors,  and  rejoice  in 
the  heritage  which  their  toil  has  won  and  bequeathed 
to  us. 

Remembering  all  these  things,  we  would  pour  out 
our  psalm  of  gratitude  to  thee,  kindling  a  reverence 
and  love  within  our  heart.  We  remember  before  thee 
the  duties  thou  givest  us  to  do,  and,  howsoever  hard, 
pray  thee  that  we  may  stir  ourselves  to  be  equal  to  our 
task.  We  would  not  forget  the  sorrows  that  are  laid 
upon  us,  the  disappointments,  the  bereavements  and 
afflictions,  which  the  mortal  eye  of  man  be  hold.*,  and 
those  dearer  and  worser  which  only  thy  sight  sees  in 
our  heart,  knowing  its  own  bitterness ;  and  we  pray 
thee  that  we  may  strengthen  ourselves  mightily  for 
these  things,  and  be  made  wiser  and  better  within  by 
the  sorrows  which  we  endure,  which  lie  patent  to  the 
world,  or  are  hid  in  the  recesses  of  our  secret  soul. 

Of  earthly  things  we  know  not  how  to  pray  thee  as 
we  ought,  seeing  as  through  a  glass  darkly,  and  not 
knowing  whether  poverty  or  riches,  whether  disaster  or 
triumph,  shall  serve  thy  purpose  best  and  make  us 
noble  men.  But  whatsoever  of  these  things  we  have, 
whether  thou  gildest  our  pathway  with  the  sun  of 
sereneness,  or  thunderest  before  our  face,  holding  the 
blackness  of  darkness  over  us,  yet  give  us  the  noble 
mind  which  loves  the  truth,  the  conscience  which 
though  it  trembles  as  it  lowly  lies  looks  ever  to  the 
right,  the  affection  which  makes  us  spend  and  be  spen' 
9 


130 

for  the  good  of  others,  —  give  us  these  things,  and 
crown  these  virtues  with  sweet  loving-kindness  and 
faith  in  thee  which  need  not  be  ashamed. 

O  Thou  who  art  our  Father  and  our  Mother,  may 
•we  know  thee  as  thou  art,  as  thou  revealest  thyself  in 
the  clear  depths  of  our  soul,  and  knowing  thee,  may 
we  love  thee  with  all  our  understanding  and  our  heart, 
with  our  strength  and  our  soul ;  and  making  it  all 
blameless  in  our  inner  man,  may  our  outward  life  be 
useful  also,  full  of  beauty,  and  welcome  in  thy  sight. 
So  here  on  earth  may  we  have  a  foretaste  of  thine 
heaven,  and  fly  upwards  towards  thee,  transfiguring 
ourselves  by  constant  growth  into  thine  image,  till, 
finishing  thy  work  with  us  on  earth,  thou  layest  our 
bodies  in  the  grave,  and  to  thine  own  home  takest  our 
spirits,  to  be  with  thee  forever  and  forever.  So  may  thy 
kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,  for  thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the 
glory  forever  and  ever. 


131 


XXVII. 

APRIL  18,  1858. 

OTHOU  who  art  present  everywhere,  we  know 
that  we  need  not  ask  thee  to  remember  us,  for 
thou  hast  us  in  thy  holy  care  and  keeping  by 
day  and  by  darkness,  and  art  the  presence  at  our  fire- 
side and  about  our  path,  watching  over  our  rising  up 
and  our  lying  down,  and  acquainted  with  all  our  ways. 
In  our  weakness  we  flee  unto  thee,  seeking  to  draw 
near  thee,  to  know  thee  as  thou  art,  and  worship  thee 
with  what  is  highest  and  best  within  our  soul.  Con- 
scious of  thy  presence  about  us  and  within,  and  mind- 
ful of  thine  eye  which  is  ever  upon  us,  we  would  re- 
member the  things  which  make  us  glad,  or  fill  us  with 
sadness ;  we  would  think  over  the  good  deeds  which 
beautify  our  soul,  and  the  ill  things  which  are  the  de- 
formity of  our  spirit ;  and  while  we  muse  on  these 
ihings,  may  the  fire  of  devotion  so  burn  in  our  heart 
that  from  the  momentary  worship  of  our  prayer  we 
may  learn  to  serve  thee  in  our  daily  life  through  all 
our  years.  May  the  meditation  of  our  heart  bring  us 
nearer  unto  thee,  and  the  words  of  our  mouth  carry  us 
up  and  on  in  the  great  journey  of  our  mortal  life 


132 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  this  material  world  above 
us,  and  about  us,  and  underneath,  wherein  thou  hast  cast 
the  lines  of  our  earthly  lot  in  exceeding  pleasant  places. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  stars  which  all  night  in  their 
serene  beauty  speak  of  thee,  where  there  is  no  voice 
nor  language,  yet  the  speech  of  whose  silence  is  felt  by 
longing,  hungering  and  impatient  souls.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  sun,  which  pours  out  the  golden  day  to  beautify 
the  sky,  and  to  bring  new  growth  of  plants,  and  life  of 
beast  and  bird,  and  many  a  creeping  thing  upon  the 
ground.  We  thank  thee  for  the  presence  of  Spring  with 
us,  for  this  angel  of  growth,  who  weeks  ago  put  the  green 
oracle  of  the  prophetic  grass  by  every  watercourse, 
rippling  its  psalm  of  life  before  the  sight  of  men,  and 
who  now  has  cast  his  handsome  garment  on  our  plains, 
and  whose  breath  swells  the  buds  in  many  a  vale  and 
on  many  a  hill,  and  draws  the  birds  with  their  sweet 
music  once  more  to  our  Northern  land.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  seed  which  the  hopeful  farmer  casts  al- 
ready into  the  genial  furrows  of  the  ground,  looking  to 
thee,  who  art  the  God  of  seed-time,  for  the  harvest's 
appointed  weeks. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  human  world  which  ourselves 
are  ;  we  bless  thee  for  the  large  nature  with  which  thou 
hast  endowed  us,  giving  us  the  victory  over  the  ground 
and  the  air,  making  every  element  to  serve  us,  and  the 
great  sun  by  day  to  measure  out  our  time,  and  distant 
stars  by  night  to  keep  watch  over  our  place,  letting  us 
know  where  'tis  we  stand  upon  thy  whirling,  many- 


133 

peopled  globe.  We  thank  thee  for  the  large  measure 
of  gifts,  the  many  talents  wherewith  thou  enrichest  this 
soul  of  man,  which  thou  createdst  nobler  than  the 
beasts  that  perish,  and  giftedst  with  such  power  im- 
mense, and  such  immortal  hope. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  joys  of  our  life,  our  daily 
bread  which  imports  strength  into  our  bodies,  the  night- 
ly sleep  which  brings  tranquillity,  recruiting  us  from  toil 
past,  and  strengthening  us  for  duties  that  spread  out  be- 
fore. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  mortal  friends  that  are  around 
us,  for  the  dear  ones  who  are  bone  of  our  bone  or  spirit 
of  our  spirit,  whom  we  put  our  arms  about  and  fold  to 
our  heart,  a  gladsome  sacrament  to  our  bosom,  a  serene 
blessedness  to  our  earthly  mortal  soul.  We  remember 
the  new  ties  which  join  us  to  the  world,  little  Messiahs 
born  into  human  arms,  and  we  thank  thee  for  the  tender 
ties  newly  knit  which  join  the  lover  and  his  beloved, 
the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,  and  all  those  sweet  fe- 
licities wherefor  the  heart,  marrying  itself  to  another, 
before  thee  pours  out  its  natural  psalm  of  grateful  joy. 
We  thank  thee  for  these  dear  affections,  whereby  the 
earth  blossoms  like  a  rose,  and  far-reaching  philan- 
thropies go  out  to  bless  the  distant  world,  counting 
mankind  our  kith  and  kin.  We  bless  thee  for  this 
deep  religious  faculty  which  thou  hast  given  us,  which 
through  the  darkness  of  earth  looks  upward  to  thine 
exceeding  light,  the  star  whose  sparkle  never  dims,  but 
shines  through  every  night  adown  upon  the  human 
soul. 


134 

"We  thank  thee  for  the  duties  thou  givest  us  to  do, 
our  general  toil  by  fireside  and  street-side,  on  land  or 
sea,  or  wheresoever  thou  sendest  us  to  run  for  the  prize 
of  thine  own  high  calling.  Yea,  we  bless  thee  for  trials 
which  are  not  too  severe  for  us,  and  for  the  burdens 
which  thou  layest  on  our  manly  or  womanly  shoulders, 
that  for  others'  sake  and  for  our  own  we  may  bear  them 
nobly  and  well. 

O  Lord,  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance,  how  many 
wrong  things  spring  up  to  our  consciousness,  and  we 
must  needs  stain  our  prayer  with  some  tear  of  peni- 
tence for  an  error  committed,  an  evil  deed,  or  some 
unholy  emotion  which  we  have  kept  within  our  soul. 
We  will  not  ask  thee  to  forgive  us  and  remove  from  us 
the  consequence  of  wrong ;  we  know  that  so  doing 
thou  woulclst  rob  us  of  our  right ;  —  but  we  pray  thee 
that  we  may  learn  to  forgive  ourselves,  and  with  new 
resolution  dry  up  every  tear  of  penitence,  and  fill  those 
footsteps  which  we  have  made  in  ancient  error  with 
new  and  manly,  womanly  life,  bearing  us  farther  for- 
ward in  our  human  march. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  sorrows  with  which 
thou  triest  us,  how  often  we  stoop  us  at  the  bitter 
waters  and  fill  our  mouths  with  sadness,  and  if  we 
dare  not  thank  thee  for  these  things,  if  we  know  not 
how  to  pray  thee  about  them  as  we  ought,  we  yet 
thank  thee  that  we  are  sure  that  in  all  these  things 
thou  meanest  us  good,  and  out  of  these  seeming  evils 
still  producest  good,  making  all  things  work  together 


135 

for  the  highest  advantage  of  thine  every  child,  witfe 
whom  thou  hast  no  son  of  perdition  and  not  a  single 
castaway.  We  thank  thee  for  that  other,  that  tran- 
scendent world,  beyond  this  globe  of  matter  and  this 
?phere  of  present  human  consciousness.  We  thank 
thee  for  that  home  wherein  to  thou  gatherest  the  spir- 
its of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  for  our  dear  ones 
who  have  gone  thither  before  us,  and  bless  thee  that 
they  are  still  not  less  near  because  they  are  transfig- 
ured with  immortal  glory,  and  have  passed  on  in  the 
road  ourselves  must  also  tread.  We  thank  thee  for 
not  only  the  hope,  but  the  certain  consciousness  of 
immortality  that  is  within  our  soul,  giving  us  light  in 
our  darkness,  hope  when  else  we  should  despair ;  and 
when  we  are  bowed  down  and  go  stooping  and  feeble, 
with  failing  eyes  and  hungering  heart,  we  thank  thee 
that  we  can  lift  up  our  countenance  towards  that  other 
world,  and  be  filled  with  joy  and  gladness  of  heart. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  we  thank  thee  for 
thyself,  —  the  materiality  of  material  tilings,  the  spir- 
ituality of  our  spirit,  the  movingest  thing  in  motion, 
the  livingest  of  life,  the  all-transcending  in  what  ia 
transcendent.  O  Thou  who  art  our  Father  and  our 
Mother  too,  we  thank  thee  for  thy  providence,  which 
is  over  all  thy  works  in  this  world,  material,  or  human, 
or  transcendent ;  yea,  for  the  infinite  love  which  thou 
bearest  to  everything  which  thou  once  hast  borne. 

We  pray  thee  that  we  may  know  thee  as  thou  art, 
in  all  thine  infinite  perfection  of  power  and  wisdom 


136 

and  justice  and  holiness  and  love,  and  knowing,  may 
have  within  us  that  perfect  love  of  thee  which  casts  out 
every  fear.  May  there  be  in  our  soul  that  warming 
strength  of  piety  which  shall  give  us  the  victory  in  our 
trial,  making  us  strong  for  public  or  for  unseen  crosses 
that  are  laid  upon  our  shoulders,  and  winging  us  with 
such  strength  that  out  of  sorrow  we  shall  fly  towards 
thee,  going  through  the  valley  of  weeping,  and  coming  off 
with  not  a  stain  upon  our  wings  and  no  tear-drop  in  our 
eye.  May  there  be  in  us  such  love  of  thee  that  we 
shall  love  every  law  which  thou  hast  writ  on  sense  or 
soul,  and  keep  it  in  our  daily  lives,  inward  and  outward, 
till  all  within  us  be  beautiful,  till  our  outward  conduct 
be  blameless,  and  we  make  every  day  thy  day,  all  work 
sacrament,  and  our  time  a  long  communion,  with  use  to 
our  brothers,  and  with  calmness,  trust  and  love  to  thee. 
So  on  earth  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be 
done  here  and  now  as  it  is  in  heaven,  for  thine  is  the 
kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory  forever  and  ever. 


137 


XXVIII. 

APRIL    25,  1858. 

OTHOU  Perpetual  Presence,  in  whom  we  live 
and  move  and  have  our  being,  we  would  draw 
near  unto  thee  once  more  in  our  mortal  conscious- 
ness, adoring  and  thanking  and  worshipping  thee,  who 
art  of  our  lives  our  most  living  thing,  the  cause  and 
providence  of  all  that  be.  We  would  remember  before 
thee  the  blessings  thou  givest  to  be  enjoyed,  the  duties 
to  be  done,  the  crosses  we  bear,  and  the  temptations  we 
encounter ;  we  would  spread  all  these  things  out  before 
our  eyes,  and  look  at  them  in  the  light  of  thy  conscious 
presence,  and  while  we  muse  thereon  may  the  fire  of 
devotion  so  burn  in  our  hearts  that  from  our  moment  of 
worship  we  may  gather  a  continual  service  of  thee  for 
all  time  to  come.  So  may  the  meditations  of  our  hearts, 
and  the  words  even  of  our  mouths,  draw  us  nearer  unto 
thee,  and  strengthen  us  for  duty  and  hope  and  sorrow 
and  delight. 

Our  Father,  who  art  always  with  us,  we  thank  thee 
for  the  material  world  thou  hast  given  us,  this  great 
foodful  ground  underneath  our  feet,  this  wide  over- 
arching heaven  above  our  heads,  and  for  the  greater 


138 

and  lesser  lights  thou  hast  placed  therein ;  we  bless  thee 
for  the  moon  which  measures  out  the  night,  walking 
in  brightness  her  continuous  round,  and  for  the  sun  that 
pours  out  the  happy  and  the  blessed  day  all  round  thy 
many-peopled  world.  We  thank  thee  for  the  green 
grass,  springing  in  its  fair  prophecy,  for  the  oracular 
buds  that  are  promising  glorious  things  in  weeks  to 
come.  We  thank  thee  for  the  power  of  vegetative  and 
animative  life  which  thou  hast  planted  in  this  world  of 
matter,  which  comes  up  this  handsome  growth  of  plant 
and  tree,  this  noble  life  of  fish,  insect,  reptile,  bird, 
beast,  and  every  living  thing. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  human  world  whereof  thou 
hast  created  us ;  we  bless  thee  for  the  great  spiritual 
talents  wherewith  thou  hast  endowed  man,  the  crown 
of  thy  visible  creation  on  the  earth.  We  thank  thee 
for  our  mind  and  our  conscience  and  our  heart,  and  all 
the  manifold  faculties  which  thou  hast  given  us,  where- 
by we  put  material  things  underneath  our  feet,  making 
the  ground  to  serve  our  seasons,  and  the  sun  to  keep 
watch  and  distribute  warmth  about  our  garden  and  our 
farm,  whereby  we  turn  the  vegetative  and  animative 
powers  of  earth  to  instruments  for  our  bodily  welfare, 
end  our  mind's  and  heart's  continual  growth. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  work  thou  givest  us  to  do  on 
jarth,  in  our  various  callings,  wide-spread  in  the  many- 
peopled  town,  or  in  some  lonely  spot  hid  in  the  green 
world  which  compasses  the  town.  We  thank  thee  for 
all  these  things  that  our  handf  Ind  to  do,  by  fireside 


139 

Rnd  field-side,  in  school,  or  shop,  or  house,  or  ship,  or 
mart,  or  wheresoever  thou  summonest  us  in  the  mani- 
fold vocations  of  our  mortal  life. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  joys  which  we  gather  from  our 
toil,  for  the  bread  which  strengthens  our  live  bodies, 
for  the  garments  and  houses  which  shield  us  from  the 
world  without,  for  all  the  things  useful,  and  the  things 
of  beauty,  both  whereof  are  a  joy  to  our  spirits. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  dear  ones  thou  givest  us  on 
earth,  called  by  many  a  tender  name  of  friend,  acquaint- 
ance, relative,  lover  or  beloved,  wife  or  husband,  parent 
or  child,  and  all  these  sweet  societies  of  loving  and  con- 
genial souls.  We  thank  thee  for  the  joy  which  we 
take  in  these  our  dear  ones,  whilst  they  are  near  us  on 
earth,  and  when  in  the  course  of  thy  providence  it 
pleases  thee  to  change  their  countenance  and  send  them 
away,  we  thank  thee  still  for  that  transcendent  world 
whereinto  thou  continually  gatherest  those  that  are  lost 
in  time,  and  are  only  found  in  eternity,  and  if  reft  from 
our  arms  are  taken  to  thine,  O  Thou  Infinite  Father, 
and  Infinite  Mother  too.  We  thank  thee  that  for  all 
sorrows  there  is  balm  and  relief,  that  this  world  which 
arches  over  our  head,  invisible  to  mortal  eye,  is  yet  but 
a  step  from  us,  and  our  dear  ones,  looking  their  last  on 
earth,  are  born  anew  into  thy  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
enter  into  glory  and  joy  which  the  eye  has  not  seen, 
nor  the  ear  heard,  nor  our  hungering  hearts  ever  fully 
dreamed  of  in  our  highest  thought. 

We  thank  thee,  0  Lord,  for  thyself,  Thou  Transcend- 


140 

ent  World,  who  embraeest  this  material  earth  and  this 
human  spirit,  putting  thine  arms  around  all,  breathing 
thereon  with  thy  spirit,  and  quickening  all  things  into 
vegetative,  animative,  or  human  life.  We  thank  thee 
that  whilst  here  on  earth,  not  knowing  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth,  nor  certain  of  our  mortal  life  for  a  moment, 
we  are  yet  sure  of  thine  almighty  power,  thine  all- 
knowing  wisdom,  and  thy  love  which  knows  no  change, 
but  shines  on  the  least  and  the  greatest,  on  thy  saint 
and  on  thy  sinner  too.  We  thank  thee  for  the  perfect 
providence  wherewith  thou  governest  the  world  of  ma- 
terial, of  growing,  or  of  living  things  ;  we  bless  thee 
that  thine  eye  rests  on  each  in  all  its  history,  that  there 
is  no  son  of  perdition  in  all  thy  family,  and  that  thon 
understandest  our  temptations,  that  thou  knewest  be 
fore  we  were  born  whatsoever  should  befall  us,  and  that 
in  thy  fatherly  loving-kindness  and  thy  motherly  tender 
mercy  thou  hast  provided  a  balm  for  every  wound,  a 
comfort  for  every  grief.  We  thank  thee  that  when  our 
kinsfolk  and  acquaintance  pass  from  earth,  howsoever 
they  make  shipwreck  here,  they  land  in  thy  kingdom 
of  heaven,  entering  there  in  thine  eternal  providence, 
their  eternal  welfare  made  certain  of  before  the  earth 
jegan  to  be. 

While  we  thank  thee  for  these  things,  who  needest  not 
our  thanks,  while  our  hearts,  overburdened  with  their 
gratitude,  lift  up  our  prayerful  psalm  unto  thee,  and 
we  remember  our  daily  duties,  and  the  glorious  desti- 
nation thou  hast  appointed  for  us,  we  pray  thee  that 


Ill 

with  great  and  noble  lives  we  may  serve  thee  all  the 
days  of  our  mortal  stay  on  earth.  May  there  be  in  us 
such  a  pious  knowledge  of  thee,  such  reverence  for 
thee,  and  such  trust  in  thee,  that  we  shall  keep  every 
law  thou  hast  writ  on  our  body  or  in  our  soul,  and  grow 
wiser  and  better,  passing  from  the  glory  of  a  good  be- 
ginning to  the  glory  of  a  noble  ending,  as  we  are  led 
forward  by  thy  spirit,  co-working  with  our  own.  Day 
by  day,  may  we  proclaim  our  religion  by  our  faithful 
industry,  doing  what  should  be  done,  bearing  what  must 
be  borne,  and  at  all  times  acquitting  us  like  men.  So 
may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 


142 


XXIX. 

MAY  2,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Perfection,  who  fillest  the  world 
with  thyself,  and  art  not  far  from  any  one  of  us, 
we  flee  unto  thee,  and  for  a  moment  would  draw 
near  thee,  that  by  the  inspiration  of  our  prayer  we  may 
know  how  not  only  to  worship  thee  in  our  psalm  and 
the  adoration  of  our  heart,  but  to  serve  thee  with  our 
work  in  all  the  daily  toil  of  our  mortal  lives.  We 
know  that  thou  needest  neither  our  psalm  of  thankgiv- 
ing,  nor  our  aspiring  prayer,  but  our  heart  and  our 
flesh  cry  out  for  thee,  the  Living  God,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment we  would  join  ourselves  to  thee,  and  warm  and 
freshen  our  spirit  in  the  sunlight  of  thy  countenance, 
and  come  away  clean  and  strengthened  and  made  whole. 
Our  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  material  world  in 
which  thou  hast  placed  us.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
return  of  Spring,  bringing  back  the  robin  and  the  swal- 
low from  their  wide  wanderings,  wherein  thy  providence 
is  their  constant  guard,  watching  over  and  blessing  these 
songsters  of  the  sky.  We  thank  thee  for  the  buds 
swelling  on  every  bough,  and  the  grass  whose  healthy 
greenness  marks  the  approaching  summer,  and  the  flow- 


143 

ers,  those  prophets  of  better  days  that  are  to  come. 
We  bless  thee  for  the  air  we  breathe,  for  the  light 
whereby  we  walk  on  the  earth,  for  the  darkness  that 
folded  us  in  its  arms  when  we  lay  down  thereunder, 
and  that  when  we  awoke  we  were  still  with  thee.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  bread  which  we  feed  upon,  for  the 
shelter  which  our  hands  have  woven  or  have  buildcd 
up,  to  fend  us  from  annoying  elements.  We  thank  thee 
for  all  the  means  of  use  and  of  beauty  which  thou 
givest  us  in  the  ground  and  the  air  and  the  heavens, 
in  things  that  move,  that  grow,  that  live.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  makest  these  all  to  wait  on  us,  having 
kindness  for  our  flesh,  and  a  lesson  also  for  our  thinking 
soul. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  human  world,  whereof  thou 
hast  made  us  in  thine  own  image  and  likeness.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  great  faculties  which  thou  hast  given 
us,  of  body  and  of  mind,  of  conscience  and  of  heart 
and  soul.  We  thank  thee  for  the  noble  destination 
which  therein  thou  shadowest  forth,  for  the  great  wants 
which  thou  raakest  in  our  spiritual  nature,  for  the  un- 
bounded appetite  thou  givest  us  for  the  true  and  the 
beautiful,  the  right  and  the  just,  for  the  love  and  wel- 
fare of  our  brother  men,  and  the  vast  and  overshadow- 
ing hope  which  thou  givest  us  towards  thee.  We  thank 
thee  for  this  great  nature  thou  hast  given,  with  its  hun- 
gerings  and  thirstings  for  ultimate  welfare,  for  duty  now 
and  blessedness  to  come. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  the  various  conditions  of  mor« 


144 

tal  life.  We  bless  thee  for  the  little  children  who  are 
of  thy  kingdom,  and  whom  thou  yet  sufferest  to  come 
unto  us ;  we  thank  thee  for  these  perpetual  prophets 
of  thine,  whose  coming  foretells  that  progressive  king- 
dom of  righteousness  which  is  ever  at  our  doors,  waiting 
to  be  revealed ;  we  thank  thee  for  the  joy  which  these 
little  buds  of  promise  give  to  many  a  father's  and 
mother's  heart.  We  thank  thee  for  the  power  of  youth  • 
we  bless  thee  for  its  green  promise,  its  glad  foretelling, 
and  its  abundant  hope,  and  its  eye  that  looks  ever 
upwards  and  ever  on.  We  thank  thee  for  the  strength 
of  manhood  and  of  womanhood,  into  whose  hands  thou 
committest  the  ark  of  the  family,  the  community,  the 
nation,  and  the  world.  We  thank  thee  for  the  strength 
of  the  full-grown  body,  for  the  vigor  of  the  mature, 
expanded,  and  progressive  mind,  and  all  the  vast  ability 
which  thou  treasures!  up  in  these  earthen  vessels  of  our 
bodies,  holding  for  a  moment  the  immortal  soul  thou 
confidest  to  their  care.  We  bless  thee  for  the  old  age 
which  crowns  man's  head  with  silver  honors,  the  fruit 
of  long  and  experienced  life,  and  enriches  his  heart 
with  the  wisdom,  which  babyhood  knew  not,  which 
youth  could  not  comprehend,  and  only  long-continued 
manhood  or  womanhood  could  mature  at  length  and 
make  perfect.  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  thou  hast 
made  us  thus  wondrously  and  curiously,  and  bindesl 
together  the  ages  of  infancy  and  youth  and  manhood 
and  old  age,  by  the  sweet  tie  of  family  and  of  social 

IOV3. 


145 

"We  thank  thee  for  that  other,  the  transcendent  world, 
which  is  the  home  of  the  souls  thou  hast  disenchanted 
of  this  dusty  flesh  and  taken  to  thyself,  where  the  eye 
may  not  see,  nor  the  ear  hear,  nor  our  own  hungering 
and  thirsting  heart  fully  understand,  all  the  mysterious 
glory  which  thou  preparest  for  thy  daughters  and  thy 
sons.  We  thank  thee  for  the  good  men  who  have  gone 
before  us  thither.  We  bless  thee  that  the  little  ones 
whom  thou  sufferest  to  come  unto  us,  when  they  depart 
from  us,  thou  takest  to  this  other  world  and  watchest 
over  and  blessest  there.  We  thank  thee  that  thereinto 
thou  gatherest  those  who  pass  out  of  earth,  in  their 
babyhood,  their  youth,  their  manhood,  their  old  age, 
and  settest  the  crown  of  immortality  on  the  baby's  or 
the  old  man's  brow,  and  blessest  all  of  thy  children  with 
thyself. 

O  Thou,  who  art  Almighty  Power,  All-present 
Spirit,  who  art  All-knowing  Wisdom,  and  All-righteous 
Justice,  we  thank  thee  for  Thyself,  that  thou  art  in 
this  world  of  matter  and  this  world  of  man,  and  that 
transcendent  immortal  world.  Yea,  we  bless  thee  that 
thou  art  the  substance  of  things  material,  the  motion 
of  all  that  moves,  the  spirituality  of  what  is  spirit,  the 
life  of  all  that  lives,  and  while  thou  occupiest  the  world 
of  matter  and  the  world  of  man,  yet  transcendest  even 
our  transcendence,  and  hast  thine  arms  around  this 
dusty  world,  this  spiritual  sphere,  and  the  souls  of  good 
men  made  perfect.  We  thank  thee  for  the  motherly 
care  wherewith  thou  watchest  over  every  living  thing 
10 


146 

which  thou  hast  created,  guiding  the  swallow  and  the 
robin  in  their  far-wandering  but  not  neglected  flight, 
for  without  thee  not  a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground, 
and  thou  overrulest  the  seeming  accident  even  for  the 
sparrow's  good. 

Father,  we  remember  before  thee  our  daily  lives, 
thanking  thee  for  our  joy,  and  praying  thee  that  there 
may  be  in  us  such  love  of  thee,  such  reverence  and 
holy  trust,  that  we  shall  use  the  world  of  matter  as 
thou  meantest  us  to  use  it  all.  In  our  daily  work,  may 
we  keep  our  hands  clean,  and  an  undefiled  heart ;  may 
we  do  justly,  and  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with 
thee.  When  our  cup  runs  over  with  gladness,  may  we 
grow  bountiful  to  all  that  need  our  wealth,  using  our 
strength  for  the  weakness  of  other  men,  to  lift  up  those 
that  are  fallen,  to  be  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  to  the 
lame,  and  to  search  out  the  cause  which  we  know  not. 
"We  remember  our  sorrows  before  thee,  and  when  our 
mortal  hearts  are  afflicted,  when  sickness  lays  waste 
our  strength,  when  riches  flee  off  from  our  grasp,  when 
our  dear  ones  in  their  infancy,  their  youth,  their  man- 
hood or  old  age,  are  lifted  away  from  the  seeing  of  our 
eyes,  —  may  our  hearts  follow  them  to  that  transcend- 
ent world,  and  come  back  laden  with  the  joy  into  which 
they  have  already  entered.  Our  Father,  may  we  so 
know  thee  as  all-wise,  and  all  just  as  to  never  fear  thee, 
but  perfect  love  shall  cast  out  fear,  and  a  continual 
spring-time  of  faith  bud  and  leave  and  blossom  and 
grow  and  bear  fruit  unto  eternal  righteousness.  So 


H7 

may  we  pass  from  glory  to  glory,  transfiguring  our- 
selves into  an  ever  higher  and  more  glorious  likeness 
of  thyself,  and  here  on  earth  enter  into  thy  kingdom 
and  taste  its  joy,  its  gladness  and  its  peace.  So  may 
thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven. 


148 


XXX. 

MAY  23,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Presence,  who  livest  and  moves! 
and  hast  thy  being  in  all  things  that  are  above  us, 
and  around  us,  and  underneath,  for  a  moment  we 
would  feel  thee  at  our  heart,  and  remember  that  it  is  in 
thee  we  also  live  and  move  and  have  our  being.  Con- 
scious of  thy  presence,  we  would  look  on  our  daily 
lives,  that  the  murmur  of  our  business,  and  the  roar  of  the 
streets,  and  the  jar  of  the  noisy  world,  may  mingle  in 
the  prayer  of  our  aspiration,  and  our  devout  soul  may 
change  it  all  into  a  psalm  of  gratitude  and  a  hymn  of 
ever-ascending  prayer.  May  the  meditations  of  our 
hearts  and  the  words  that  issue  thence  draw  us  nearer 
unto  thee,  who  art  always  above  us  and  about  us  and 
within. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  material  world,  wherewith  thou 
environest  us  beneath  and  about  and  overhead.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  night,  where  thy  moon  walks  in 
brightness,  pouring  out  her  beauty  all  around,  with  a 
star  or  two  beside  her ;  and  we  bless  thee  for  the  sun, 
who  curiously  prepares  the  chambers  of  the  East  with 
his  beauty,  and  then  pours  out  the  golden  day  upon  the 


149 

waiting  and  expectant  ground.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
new  life  which  comes  tingling  in  the  boughs  of  every 
great  or  little  tree,  which  is  green  in  the  new-ascended 
grass,  and  transfigures  itself  in  the  flowers  to  greater 
brightness  than  Solomon  ever  put  on.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  seed  which  the  farmer  has  cradled  in  the  ground, 
or  which  thence  lifts  up  its  happy  face  of  multitudinous 
prophecy,  telling  us  of  harvests  that  are  to  come.  We 
thank  thee  also  for  the  garment  of  prophecy  with  which 
thou  girdest  the  forests  and  adornest  every  tree  all  round 
our  Northern  lands.  We  bless  thee  for  the  fresh  life 
which  teems  in  the  waters  that  are  about  us,  and  in  the 
little  brooks  which  run  among  the  hills,  which  warbles 
in  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  hums  with  new-born 
insects  throughout  the  peopled  land.  O  Lord,  we  thank 
thee  for  a  day  so  sweet  and  fair  as  this,  when  the  trees 
lift  up  their  hands  in  a  psalm  of  gratitude  to  thee,  and 
every  little  flower  that  opens  its  cup  and  every  wan- 
dering bird  seem  filled  by  thy  spirit,  and  grateful  to 
thee.  We  thank  thee  for  all  thine  handwritings  of 
revelation  on  the  walls  of  the  world,  on  the  heavens 
above  us  and  the  ground  beneath,  and  all  the  testimo- 
nies recorded  there  of  thy  presence,  thy  power,  thy 
justice,  and  thy  love. 

We  thank  thee  not  less  for  that  perpetual  spring- 
time with  which  thou  visitest  the  human  soul.  We 
bless  thee  for  the  sun  of  righteousness  which  never 
sets,  nor  allows  any  night  there,  but,  with  healing  in 
his  beams,  shakes  down  perennial  day  on  eyes  thai 


150 

open,  and  on  hearts  that,  longing,  lift  them  up  to  thec. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  great  truths  which  shine  to  us, 
the  lesser  light  like  the  moon  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  those  great  lights  which  pour  out  a  continu- 
ous and  never-ending  day  about  us  where'er  we  turn 
our  weary  mortal  feet.  We  thank  thee  for  the  gener- 
ous emotions  which  spring  up  anew  in  every  genera- 
tion of  mankind,  for  the  justice  that  faints  not  nor  is 
weary,  for  the  truth  which  never  fails,  for  that  philan- 
thropy which  goes  out  and  brings  the  wanderer  home, 
which  lifts  up  the  fallen  and  heals  the  sick,  is  eyes  to 
the  blind  and  feet  to  the  lame ;  yea,  we  thank  thee  for 
that  piety  which  inspired  thy  sons  in  many  a  distant 
age,  in  every  peopled  land,  and  we  bless  thee  that  it 
springs  anew  in  our  heart,  drawing  us  unto  thee,  and 
giving  us  a  multitudinous  prophecy  of  glories  that  are 
yet  to  come,  while  it  sheds  peace  along  the  pathway 
where  we  turn  our  weary  mortal  feet. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  various  business  of 
our  lives,  thanking  thee  for  the  bread  we  eat,  the  rai- 
ment we  put  on,  the  houses  which  shelter  us,  the  tools 
that  occupy  our  hands,  and  all  this  wonderful  array  of 
material  things  whereby  thou  marriest  the  immortal 
soul  to  this  globe  of  lands  about  us  and  underneath. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  process  of  our  work,  blessing 
thee  for  all  which  industry  teaches  to  our  intelligent 
hand,  to  our  thoughtful  mind,  to  our  conscience,  which 
would  accord  it  with  thy  law,  to  our  hearts,  which 
would  love  each  other,  and  to  our  soul,  which  gains 


151 

not  only  daily  bread  for  the  body,  but  bread  of  life 
for  itself,  yea,  angel's  bread,  wherewith  thou  admin- 
isterest  the  industrial  sacrament  to  our  lips  in  our 
daily  toil. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  various  duties  and 
temptations  on  the  earth.  In  the  time  of  our  youth- 
ful passion,  we  pray  thee  that  conscience  may  light  its 
fire  within  our  heart,  to  shed  its  light  along  our  path, 
that  we  stumble  not,  nor  fall  into  the  snare  of  the  de- 
stroyer ;  and  in  the  more  dangerous  hour  when  ambi- 
tion tempts  the  man,  we  pray  thee  that  with  greatness 
of  religion  we  may  bid  this  enemy  also  stand  behind 
us,  and  wait  till  we  bind  his  hands  and  make  him  bear 
our  burdens  and  grind  the  mill  whereby  we  achieve 
greater  glories  for  ourselves.  We  pray  thee  that 
when  we  are  weak  and  poor  and  foolish,  we  may  re- 
member the  source  of  all  strength  and  all  riches  and 
all  wisdom  ;  and  when  we  grow  strong  and  rich,  wise 
and  good,  may  we  never  forget  our  duty  to  the  poor, 
the  weak,  the  foolish  and  the  wicked  man,  but,  remem- 
bering that  mercy  is  more  than  sacrifice,  may  we  love 
others  as  we  love  ourselves,  and  forgive  them  as  we 
ask  thy  blessing  on  us  in  our  trespasses  and  our  sins. 

We  remember  before  thee  those  that  are  near  and 
dear  to  us,  joined  by  many  a  pleasant  tie,  seen  by  the 
eyes,  or  felt  only  in  the  soul  which  trembles  across  dis- 
tances, and  with  the  electric  bond  of  love  joins  the  dis- 
tant as  the  near.  We  thank  thee  for  all  that  we  love, 
and  who  in  turn  love  us,  and,  mid  the  noisy  world,  we 


152 

bless  thee  for  the  quiet  satisfaction  which  comes  to 
peaceful  loving  souls. 

Father,  we  remember  not  less  those  who  are  of  us, 
if  with  us  no  more,  and  while  we  dare  not  thank  thee 
that  the  mortal  has  faded  from  our  sight,  we  thank 
thee  that  we  know  that  when  friend  and  lover  are  put 
from  us,  they  go  not  into  darkness  but  into  unspeak- 
able light,  born  out  of  the  world  of  time  to  live  forever 
in  thy  glorious  eternity. 

Our  Falher,  we  remember  before  thee  our  whole 
country,  thanking  thee  for  the  many  blessings  thou 
hast  given  us,  for  the  great  multitude  of  its  people,  for 
the  abundance  of  its  riches,  for  its  industry  which  fails 
not,  and  its  mind  which  grows  ever  the  more  intelli- 
gent. We  thank  thee  for  great  men  who  in  times  past 
bore  to  this  land  the  seed  of  promise,  planted  it  in 
the  wilderness,  watched  over  it,  defending  with  their 
tears,  and  enriching  with  their  blood ;  yea,  who  drew 
swords  in  its  manly  defence.  We  thank  thee  for  these 
men,  for  these  great,  noble,  valiant  souls,  who  in  our 
day  of  pilgrimage  and  of  revolution  were  faithful  to 
mankind's  sorest  need,  and  wrought  for  us  so  great 
deliverance. 

And  now,  Lord,  we  remember  before  thee  one,* 
two  years  since  felled  by  the  assassin's  coward  hand, 
himself  not  less  noble  than  the  noblest,  and  by  the 
stripes  of  our  iniquity  which  were  laid  on  him,  dis- 

*  Charles  Sumner. 


163 

dbled  alike  from  public  duty  and  private  joy,  hina 
whom  the  waters,  cradling,  rock,  while  he  seeks  in 
other  lands  the  quiet  and  the  health  this  cannot  offer. 
We  thank  thee  for  his  valiant  soul  which  remembered 
its  bravery  when  others  thought  but  of  discretion,  and 
that  he  bore  a  man's  testimony  in  the  midst  of  an  un- 
manly crowd  of  mean  men,  and  deserved  greatly  of 
his  own  generation,  and  ages  that  are  to  come.  We 
know  that  we  need  not  ask  thy  blessing  on  him,  but 
in  our  hearts  we  would  bear  his  memory  exceeding 
precious. 

Father,  we  pray  thee  that  in  every  emergency  of 
«>ur  lives  we  may  be  faithful  to  the  duty  whicn  the  day 
demands,  and  with  reverent  spirits  acquit  us  like  men, 
doing  what  should  be  done,  bearing  what  must  be 
borne,  and  so  growing  greater  from  our  toil  and  our 
sufferings,  till  we  transfigure  ourselves  into  noble  im- 
ages of  humanity,  which  are  blameless  within  and 
beautiful  without,  and  acceptable  to  thy  spirit.  So 
may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven  ;  for  thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the 
power  and  the  glory,  the  dominion  and  honor  forever 
and  ever. 


154 


XXXI. 

JUNE  6,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Perfection,  who  art  everywhere 
present,  by  day  and  night,  we  would  flee  unto 
thee,  and  for  a  moment  take  thee  to  our  con- 
sciousness, in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being,  as  thou  also  livest  and  movest  and  hast  thy  be- 
ing in  us.  Conscious  of  our  dependence  upon  thee, 
we  would  remember  our  joys  and  our  sorrows,  pray- 
ing thee  that  from  our  moment  of  communion  and  of 
worship  we  may  get  new  strength  to  serve  thee  all  the 
days  of  our  lives.  0  Thou  Infinite  Mother,  who  art 
the  parent  of  our  bodies  and  our  souls,  we  know  that 
thou  hast  us  always  in  thy  charge  and  care,  that  thou 
cradlest  the  world  beneath  thine  eye,  which  never 
slumbers  nor  sleeps,  and  for  a  moment  we  would  be 
conscious  of  thy  presence  with  us,  that  thereby  we  may 
enlighten  what  is  dark,  and  raise  what  is  low,  and 
purify  what  is  troubled,  and  confirm  every  virtue  that 
is  weak  within  us,  till,  blameless  and  beautiful,  com- 
plete and  perfect,  we  can  present  ourselves  before 
thee. 

Father  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  we  thank  thee  for 


155 

the  world  of  matter  thou  hast  given  us,  about  us,  un- 
derneath us,  and  above  our  heads.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  genial  year,  whose  sweet  breath  is  now  diffused 
abroad  o'er  all  our  Northern  land.  We  thank  thee 
for  this  great  inorganic  and  organic  mass  of  things 
whereon  we  live.  We  bless  thee  for  the  world  of  vege- 
tative growth  which  comes  creeping,  creeping  every- 
where, spreading  over  the  shoulders  of  the  land,  and 
running  beneath  the  waters  of  the  sea.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  flowers  which  adorn  the  green  grass,  and 
which  hang  their  open  petals  in  wondrous  beauty  yet 
from  many  a  lingering  tree.  We  thank  thee  for  these 
lesser  and  these  greater  prophets  who  proclaim  in  their 
oracles  the  various  gospel  of  the  year,  foretelling  the 
harvest  of  grass  for  the  cattle,  and  of  bread  for  man, 
and  satisfaction  for  every  living  thing.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  rain  thou  sheddest  down  from  heaven, 
abundant  in  its  season,  and  the  genial  heat  thou  min- 
glest  with  the  air  and  earth,  changing  these  seeming 
dead  organic  things  to  vegetative  growth.  We  bless 
thee  for  the  animated  world  of  living  things  that  feed 
upon  the  ground,  that  wing  the  air  with  their  melodi- 
ous beauty,  or  that  sail  unseen  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
We  thank  thee  for  all  this  varied  flock  of  speaking 
and  of  silent  things  which  thou  hast  breathed  upon 
with  thy  breath  of  life.  We  thank  thee  that  from  day 
to  day  thou  spreadest  a  table  for  every  great  and  every 
little  thing,  that  thou  feedest  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and 
carest  for  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  the  cattle  and  the 


creeping  things,  taking  care  of  oxen,  and  having  thine 
eye  on  all  the  many  millions  of  creatures  which  thou 
hidest  in  the  waters  of  the  sea,  where  thou  feedest 
them  with  thy  bounty,  housing  and  clothing  and  heal- 
ing all. 

We  thank  thee  for  this  great  human  world  which 
thou  hast  superadded  to  this  earth  and  air  and  sea. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  mighty  capacities  which  thou 
hast  given  us  for  thought  and  toil,  for  use,  and  beauty's 
sweeter  use,  for  duty  and  all  the  manifold  works  of 
mortal  time.  We  bless  thee  for  the  eye  of  conscience 
which  thy  sun  of  righteousness  doth  so  irradiate  with 
healing  in  his  beams,  and  we  thank  thee  for  this  blessed 
power  of  affection  which  makest  twain  one,  and  thence 
educest  many  forth,  and  joinest  all  in  bonds  of  gladness 
and  of  love.  We  thank  thee  for  this  uplifted  and  up- 
lifting soul  of  ours,  whereby  we  know  thee,  our  Father 
and  our  Mother,  and  have  serene  delight  in  thy  contin- 
ual presence  and  thy  love. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  that  transcendent  world 
near  to  the  earth  of  matter  and  the  soul  of  man,  where- 
in thou  dwellest,  thou  and  the  blessed  spirits  thou  en- 
closest,  as  the  sea  her  multitudinous  and  her  fruitful 
waves. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  thine  own  self,  for  thy 
fatherly  loving-kindness,  for  thy  motherly  tender  mercy, 
which  are  over  all  thy  works,  breaking  their  bread  to 
the  humbler  things  that  are  beneath  us,  and  feeding  us 
not  less  with  bread  from  heaven,  even  the  spiritual 


157 

food  which  is  our  soul's  dear  sustenance.  We  thank 
thee  that  when  we  slumber  and  when  we  wake,  when 
we  think  of  thee,  and  when  our  minds  are  on  the  cares 
of  earth,  or  the  joys  of  friendship,  thou  hast  us  equally 
in  thy  care,  brooding  over  us  with  a  mother's  love, 
sheltering  us  with  all  the  perfections  of  thine  infinite 
being.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  that  when,  through  the 
darkness  that  lies  about  us,  or  the  grosser  darkness  of 
perverted  will  within,  we  wander  from  thy  ways,  thy 
motherly  love  forsakes  us  not,  but  thou  readiest  out 
thine  arm  and  bringest  back  the  wanderer,  rounding 
home  at  last,  a  wiser  and  a  better  man,  that  he  has 
sinned,  and  suffered,  and  so  returned. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  inward  and  our  out- 
ward lives,  and  pray  thee  that,  on  this  material  world, 
and  of  this  human,  and  surrounded  so  by  thee,  we  may 
live  great,  blameless,  noble  lives.  May  there  be  in  us 
that  soul  of  piety  which  so  regardest  thine  infinite 
power,  wisdom,  justice,  and  love,  that  we  shall  scorn 
to  disobey  the  law  which  thou  hast  writ  on  flesh  or 
soul,  but  keep  all  which  thou  commandest,  and  serve 
thee  by  a  life  that  is  continually  useful,  beautiful,  and 
acceptable  with  thee.  In  this  spring-time  of  the  year, 
half  summer  now,  may  there  be  a  kindred  spring-time 
in  our  soul,  and  the  lesser  and  the  greater  prophets 
thereof,  may  they  hang  out  their  pleasing  oracles,  the 
gospel  which  promises  a  noble  harvest  of  virtue  in 
days  to  come.  May  we  have  such  piety  within,  trans- 
figuring itself  to  such  morality  without,  that  we  shall 


158 

bear  every  cross  which  should  be  borne,  do  each  duty 
which  must  be  done,  and  at  all  times  bravely  acquit 
us  like  noble  men.  Thus  may  we  grow  to  the  meas- 
ure of  the  stature  of  a  complete  and  perfect  man,  pass- 
ing from  glory  to  glory,  till  thou  finishest  thy  work  on 
earth  through  our  hands,  and  welcomest  us  to  thine 
own  kingdom  of  heaven,  to  advance  forever  and  ever, 
from  glory  to  glory,  from  joy  to  joy,  as  we  are  led  by 
thee.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


159 


XXXII. 

JUNE  13,  1858. 

OT1IOU  who  art   always  near  to  us,  we  in  our 
consciousness   would  for   a   moment    draw   near 
unto  thee,  and,  feeling  thee  at  our  heart,  would 
remember   the    circumstances   of   our  daily  lives,  the 
joys  we    delight   in,   the   sorrows  we    bear,    the   sins 
wherewith  we  transgress  against  thee,  the  grave,  and 
solemn,  and  joyous  duties  thou  givest  us  to  do. 

O  Thou  who  givest  to  mankind  liberally,  we  thank 
thee  for  the  world  of  matter  wherein  thou  hast  placed 
us,  for  the  heavens  above  our  head,  for  the  stars  that 
burn  in  perennial  splendor,  though  the  misty  exhala- 
tions of  the  earth  may  hide  them  from  our  sight.  We 
bless  thee  for  the  sun  which  above  the  clouds  pours 
down  the  light,  and  creates  a  world  of  beauty,  erelong 
to  be  opened  to  our  mortal  sense.  We  thank  thee  for 
this  great  foodful  ground  underneath  our  feet,  now  gar- 
mented with  such  loveliness,  and  adorned  with  the 
manifold  radiance  of  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  ten- 
der mercy.  We  thank  thee  for  the  grass  everywhere 
growing  for  the  cattle,  and  for  the  bread  which  the 
farmer's  thoughtful  toil  wins  by  thy  providence  from 
out  the  fertile  ground.  We  thank  thee  for  the  seed  Le 


180 

has  cast  into  its  furrows,  and  the  blade  piercing  the 
earth  with  its  oracle  of  promise,  foretelling  the  weeks 
of  harvest  which  are  sure  to  follow  in  their  appointed 
time.  We  thank  thee  that  in  the  cold  rain  from  the 
skies,  thou  sheddest  down  the  unseen  causes  of  harvests 
both  of  use  and  of  beauty  which  are  yet  to  come. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  love  with  which  thou  givest 
thy  benediction  to  everything  which  thou  hast  made. 
Thou  pasturest  thy  clouds  on  every  oc^an  field,  thou 
feedest  thy  mountains  from  the  breast  of  heaven,  thou 
blessest  the  flowers  on  a  thousand  hills,  thou  suppliest 
the  young  lions  when  they  hunger  from  lack  of  meat, 
thou  clothest  the  lily  with  beauty  more  than  queenly, 
and  through  all  these  outward  things  that  perish  thou 
speakest  of  thine  infinite  providence,  which  watches 
over  every  sparrow  that  falls,  and  holds  in  thy  hand 
the  wandering  orbs  of  heaven. 

We  thank  thee  also  for  this  great,  glorious  human 
nature  which  thou  hast  blessed  us  with.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  body,  so  curiously  and  wonderfully  made, 
fitted  for  all  the  various  purposes  of  human  need ;  and 
we  thank  thee  for  this  spiritual  part  which  thou  hast 
breathed  into  this  mortal. 

We  bless  thee  for  this  toilsome  and  far-reaching  mind, 
which  gives  us  dominion  over  the  earth  beneath  our 
feet,  and  makes  the  winds  and  the  waters  serve  us, 
which  tames  the  lightning  of  heaven,  and  learns  the 
time  from  the  stars  by  night  and  the  sun  by  day.  We 
thank  thee  for  that  great  world  of  artistic  use  and 


161 

beauty,  and  of  scientific  truth,  which  the  human  mind 
has  made  to  blossom  from  out  this  foodful  ground  and 
chose  starry  heavens  wherewith  thou  girdest  us  about. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  moral  sense,  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  righteousness,  and  that  thou  fillest  our 
conscience  with  thine  own  justice,  enlightening  our 
pathway  with  the  lamp  of  right,  shining  with  its  ever 
unchanging  beams,  to  light  alike  the  way  of  thy  com- 
mand'nc  nts  and  of  human  toil  upon  the  earth. 

We  thank  thee  for  these  dear  affections,  which  set 
the  solitary  in  families,  and  of  twain  make  one,  and 
thence  bring  many  forth,  peopling  the  world  with  in- 
fantile gladness,  which  grows  up  to  manhood  and  to 
womannood  in  all  their  various  forms.  We  thank  thee 
for  that  unselfish  and  self-forgetful  love  which  toils  for 
the  needy,  which  is  eyes  for  the  blind,  and  feet  for  the 
lame,  and  is  wisdom  for  the  fool,  and  spreads  civiliza- 
tion all  round  the  world,  giving  freedom  to  the  slave 
and  light  to  those  who  have  long  sat  in  darkness. 

We  thank  thee  for  this  overmastering  religious 
faculty,  the  flower  of  intellect  and  conscience  and  the 
affections,  and  we  bless  thee  that  by  this  we  know  thee 
instinctively,  and  have  a  joyous  delight  in  thy  presence, 
opening  our  flower,  whereinto  thou  sheddest  gentle 
dew,  warming  it  with  all  thy  fatherly  and  motherly 
love,  blessing  us  from  day  to  day,  from  age  to  age. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  great  triumphs  of  the  human 
race,  that  while  thou  Greatest  us  individually  as  little 
babies,  and  collectively  as  wild  men,  slowly  but  cer« 
11 


162 

tainly  thou  leadest  thy  children  from  low  beginnings, 
ever  upward  and  ever  forward,  towards  those  glorious 
heights  which  our  eyes  have  not  seen  nor  our  forefeel- 
iug  hearts  completely  understood.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  truth,  the  justice,  the  philanthropy  and  the  piety, 
which  elder  ages  have  brought  forth  and  sent  down  to 
us,  to  gladden  our  eyes  and  to  delight  our  hearts.  We 
thank  thee  for  those  great,  noble  souls  whom  thou  cre- 
atedst  with  genius  and  h'lledst  with  its  normal  inspiration, 
who  have  shed  light  along  the  human  path  in  many  a 
dark  day  of  our  human  history,  and  in  every  savage 
land.  And  above  all  these  do  we  thank  thee  for  that 
noble  brother  of  humanity,  who,  in  his  humble  life,  in  a 
few  years,  revealed  to  us  so  much  of  justice,  so  much 
of  love,  and  with  such  blameless  piety  looked  up  to  thee, 
while  he  forgave  his  enemies,  putting  up  a  prayer  for 
them.  And  not  less,  O  Father,  do  we  thank  thee  for 
the  millions  of  men  and  women,  who  with  common  gifts 
and  noble  faithfulness  have  trod  the  way  of  life,  doing 
their  daily  duties  all  unabashed  by  fear  of  men.  We 
thank  thee  for  what  has  been  wrought  out  by  these  fa- 
mous or  these  humble  hands,  which  has  come  down  to  us. 
O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  thyself,  Father  and  Mother 
to  the  little  child  and  the  man  full-grown.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  lovest  thy  savage  and  thy  civilized,  and 
puttest  the  arms  of  motherly  kindness  about  thy  saint 
and  round  thy  sinner  too.  O  Thou  who  art  Infinite  in 
power  and  in  wisdom,  we  bless  thee  that  we  are  sure 
not  less  of  thine  infinite  justice  and  thy  perfect  love. 


163 

Yea,  we  thank  thee  that  out  of  these  perfections  thoa 
hast  made  alike  the  world  of  matter  and  of  man,  pro- 
viding a  glorious  destination  for  every  living  thing 
which  thou  broughtest  forth. 

We  remember  before  thee  our  daily  lives,  and  we 
pray  thee  that  in  us  there  may  be  such  knowledge  of 
thy  true  perfection,  such  a  feeling  of  our  nature's  noble- 
ness, that  we  shall  love  thee  with  all  our  understanding, 
with  all  our  heart  and  soul.  We  remember  the  various 
toils  thou  givest  us,  the  joys  we  rejoice  in,  the  sins  we 
have  often  committed,  and  we  pray  thee  that  there  may 
be  such  strength  of  piety  within  us,  that  it  shall  bring 
all  our  powers  to  serve  thee  in  a  perfect  concord  of  har- 
monious life.  In  youth  may  no  sins  of  passion  destroy 
or  disturb  the  soul,  but  may  we  use  our  members  for 
their  most  noble  work  ;  and  in  manhood's  more  danger- 
ous hour  may  no  ambition  lead  us  astray  from  the  true 
path  of  duty  and  of  joy.  Wherever  thou  castest  the 
lines  of  our  lot,  there  may  we  serve  thee  daily  with  a 
life  which  is  a  constant  communion  with  thyself.  So 
day  by  day  may  we  transfigure  ourselves  into  nobler 
images  of  thy  spirit,  walk  ever  in  the  light  of  thy  coun- 
tenance, and  pass  from  the  glory  of  a  manly  prayer  to 
the  grander  glory  of  a  manly  life,  upright  before  thee 
and  downright  before  men,  and  so  serve  thee  in  the 
flesh  till  all  our  days  are  holy  days,  and  every  work, 
act  and  thought  becomes  a  sacrament  as  uplifting  as 
our  prayer.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


164 


XXXIII. 

JUNE  20,  1858. 

OTIIOU  Infinite  Presence,  who  occupiest  all  space 
and  all  time  with  thy  perfections,  we  flee  unto 
thee,  and  would  feel  for  a  moment  the  conscious- 
ness of  thee,  and  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance  would 
we  spread  out  our  life  before  thee,  and  so  pay  thee 
worship  in  our  prayer  that  we  may  give  thee  manly 
and  womanly  service  all  our  days,  with  continual  clean- 
ness of  hands  and  gladness  of  heart.  We  know  that 
thou  needest  no  prayer  from  our  lips  or  our  hearts,  but 
in  our  feebleness  and  dependence  upon  thee,  we  love  to 
join  ourselves  for  a  moment,  in  our  silent  or  our  spoken 
prayer,  with  thee,  who  art  our  Father  and  our  Mother, 
that  we  may  gird  up  our  loins  and  strengthen  our  spirit 
before  thee. 

O  Lord,  who  givest  to  mankind  liberally,  and  up- 
braidest  not,  we  thank  thee  for  the  blessings  thou  be- 
stowest  from  day  to  day.  We  thank  thee  for  this 
material  world,  now  clad  in  its  garment  of  Northern 
beauty,  for  the  great  sun  which  all  day  pours  down  his 
light  upon  the  waiting  and  the  grateful  world,  and  for  the 
earth  underneath  our  feet.  We  bless  thee  for  the  green 


165 

rjxuriance  which  fills  up  all  the  valleys  and  covers  all 
tne  hills,  and  hangs  in  its  leafy  splendor  from  every 
tree.  We  bless  thee  for  the  grass,  bread  for  the  cattle, 
its  harvest  of  use  spread  everywhere,  and  for  the  va- 
rious beauty  which  here  and  there  spangles  all  useful 
things  which  thine  eye  looks  down  upon.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  grain  which  is  the  food  of  man,  and  for  the 
green  fruit  hanging  pendent  on  many  a  bough  which 
waves  in  the  summer  wind,  its  wave-offering  unto  thee. 
We  thank  thee  that  all  night  long,  when  our  eyes  are 
closed,  above  our  head  there  is  another  world  of  beauty, 
where  star  speaketh  unto  star,  and  though  there  be  no 
voice  nor  language,  yet  thy  great  spirit  therein  watches 
alike  over  the  sleeping  and  the  wakeful  world. 

Father  we  thank  thee  for  this  great  human  world 
which  thou  hast  created.  We  bless  thee  for  the  glorious 
nature  which  thou  hast  given  us,  above  the  material 
things  and  above  the  beasts  who  feed  thereon,  which 
thou  hast  made  also  subservient  unto  us.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  vast  talents,  so  various  and  so  fair,  which 
thou  hast  lodged  in  these  earthen  vessels  of  our  bodies. 
We  bless  thee  for  our  vast  capacity  for  improvement 
in  every  noblest  thing,  and  that  thou  hast  so  made  the 
world  that  while  we  seek  the  daily  bread  for  our  body 
which  perishes  in  the  using,  we  gain  also  by  thy  sweet 
providence  that  bread  of  life  which  groweth  not  old, 
and  strengthens  our  soul  forever  and  ever. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  joys  thou  givest  us  here  on 
earth,  for  the  blessing  which  comes  as  the  result  of  our 


166 

daily  toil,  which  feeds  our  mouths,  and  clothes  our 
bodies,  and  houses  and  heals  us  in  the  world  where 
shelter  and  medicine  are  kind  to  our  mortal  flesh.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  education  which  comes  from  the 
process  of  all  honest  work,  the  humblest  and  the  high- 
est. We  bless  thee  for  the  moral  sense,  telling  us  of 
that  star  of  right  which  shines  forever  in  thine  heaven, 
and  sheds  down  the  light  of  thine  unchanging  law,  even 
in  the  darkness  of  our  folly  and  our  sin.  We  bless  thee 
for  this  great  human  heart  by  which  we  live,  making  us 
dear  to  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance,  to  friend  and  rela- 
tion, joining  the  lover  and  beloved,  wife  and  husband, 
child  and  parent,  in  sweet  alliances  of  gentleness  and 
love.  Father,  we  thank  thee  for  this  soul  of  ours, 
which  hungers  and  thirsts  after  thee,  and  will  not  be 
fed  save  with  thy  truth,  thy  justice,  and  thy  love. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  glorious  history  which  thou 
hast  given  to  humankind;  that  from  the  wild  babyhood 
wherein  thou  createdst  man  at  first,  thou  hast  led  us  up 
thus  far,  through  devious  ways,  to  us  not  understood, 
but  known  to  be  ordered  by  thee,  tending  to  that  grand 
destination  which  thou  appointest  for  all  mankind.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  great  prophets  who  have  gone  before 
us  in  every  land  and  in  every  age,  gifted  with  genius  in 
their  nature,  and  inspired  from  thee  through  the  noble 
use  of  the  talents  thou  gavest  them.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  truths  they  taught,  for  the  justice  they  showed, 
for  the  love  to  men  which  was  their  faith  and  their 
daily  life,  and  the  piety  wherein  they  walked  and  were 


167 

strengthened  and  made  glad.  We  bless  thee  for  the 
ways  of  the  world  which  were  made  smooth  by  the  toil  of 
these  great  men,  and  that  we  can  walk  serene  on  paths 
once  slippery  with  their  blood  and  now  monumented 
with  their  memorial  bones.  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for 
our  noble  brother  who  in  many  generations  gone  by 
brought  so  much  of  truth  to  darkling  man,  showed  so 
much  of  justice,  and  lived  so  much  of  philanthropy  to 
men  and  of  piety  to  thee. 

Our  Father,  while  we  thank  thee  for  the  material 
and  the  human  world,  we  bless  thee  also  for  that  di 
vine  world  which  transcends  them  both.  We  thank 
thee  for  that  heaven,  the  abode  of  spirits  disembodied 
from  the  earth,  and  we  lift  up  our  eyes  towards  those 
who  have  gone  before  us,  our  fathers,  or  our  children, 
husband  or  wife,  kinsfolk  and  friends,  and  we  thank  thee 
that  we  know  that  they  are  all  safe  with  thee,  thy  fa- 
therly arms  around  them,  and  thy  motherly  eye  giving 
them  thy  blessing. 

We  thank  thee  for  thyself,  who  fillest  that  world  and 
also  this  globe  of  matter  and  this  sphere  of  man  with 
thy  transcendent  presence.  We  bless  thee  for  thine 
almighty  power,  thine  all-knowing  wisdom,  thine  all- 
righteous  justice,  and  thine  all-blessing  love,  which 
watches  over  and  saves  every  son  and  daughter  of 
mankind.  In  the  midst  of  things  which  we  do  not 
understand,  we  bless  thee  that  we  are  sure  of  thee, 
aad  have  towards  thee  that  perfect  love  which  casts 
out  every  fear. 


168 

We  pray  thee  that  in  our  soul  there  may  be  such 
depth  of  piety  and  such  serene  and  tranquil  trust  in 
thee,  (hat  in  our  period  of  passion  we  shall  tame  every 
lust  that  wars  against  the  soul,  making  it  our  servant, 
not  our  master  ;  and  in  manhood's  more  dangerous  day 
may  we  tame  likewise  the  power  of  ambition,  and 
make  that  our  servant,  to  run  before  us  and  prepare  the 
way  where  our  laborious  justice,  our  truth-loving  wis- 
dom, our  philanthropy  and  our  morality,  with  generous 
feet,  shall  tread  triumphant  in  their  journey  on.  May 
we  use  this  world  of  matter  to  build  up  the  being  that 
we  are  to  a  nobler  stature  of  strength  and  of  beauty  ; 
and  the  great  powers  which  thou  hast  given  us,  of 
mind,  of  conscience,  of  heart,  and  of  soul,  may  we 
educate  and  culture  them  till  we  attain  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man,  and  have  passed  from 
glory  to  glory,  till  thy  truth  is  our  thought,  and  thy  jus- 
tice our  will,  and  thy  loving-kindness  is  the  feeling  of 
our  heart,  and  thine  own  holiness  of  integrity  is  our 
daily  life.  Thus  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


169 


XXXIV. 

JUNE  27,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Presence,  who  art  everywhere, 
whom  no  name  can  describe,  but  who  dwellest  in 
houses  made  with  hands,  and  fillest  the  heaven 
of  heavens,  which  run  over  with  thy  perfections,  we 
would  draw  near  to  thee  for  a  moment,  who  forever 
art  near  to  us,  and  would  think  of  our  own  lives  in  the 
light  of  thy  countenance,  and  so  gird  up  our  souls  for 
duty,  and  strengthen  ourselves  for  every  care  and  every 
cross  thou  layest  on  us.  We  know  that  thou  needest 
nothing  at  our  hands  nor  at  our  heart,  but  in  our  weak- 
ness, conscious  of  our  infinite  need  of  thee,  we  would 
strengthen  ourselves  by  the  prayer  of  a  moment  for 
the  service  of  a  day,  and  a  week,  and  all  our  lives. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  world  wherein  thou  hast  cast 
the  lines  of  our  lot.  We  bless  thee  for  the  material 
universe  where  thou  hast  placed  us.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  heavens  over  our  heads,  purple  and  golden  in 
their  substance,  and  jewelled  all  over  by  night  with 
such  refulgent  fires.  We  thank  thee  for  the  moon 
which  there  walks  in  beauty,  shedding  her  romantic 
glory  on  the  slumbering  ground,  and  making  poetic 


170 

the  rudest  thing  in  country  or  in  town.  We  thank 
thee  for  that  great  sun  which  brings  us  the  day-spring 
from  on  high,  and  fringes  the  earth  at  morning  and  at 
evening  with  such  evangelic  beauty,  and  all  day  warms 
the  great  growing  world  with  thy  loving-kindness  and 
thy  tender  mercy  too.  We  thank  thee  for  the  earth 
underneath  our  feet,  and  the  garment  of  green  beauty 
wherewith  the  shoulders  of  the  Northern  world  are 
now  so  sumptuously  clad.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
harvest  of  bread  for  the  cattle  and  of  bread  for  man, 
growing  out  of  the  ground,  and  waving  in  the  summer 
wind.  We  thank  thee  for  the  beauty  which  thou  en- 
thronest  in  every  leaf,  which  thou  incarnatest  in  every 
little  grass,  and  wherewith  thou  fringest  the  brooks 
which  run  among  the  hills,  and  borderest  the  paths 
which  men  have  trod  in  wood  and  field. 

We  thank  thee  likewise  for  the  noble  nature  which 
thou  hast  given  to  us,  for  this  spiritual  earth  and 
heaven  which  we  are ;  we  thank  thee  for  the  glow 
of  material  splendor,  of  purple  and  of  gold,  where- 
with thou  investest  us,  and  for  the  more  than  starry 
beauty  with  which  our  souls  are  jewelled  forth.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  lesser  truths  which  walk  in  beauty 
in  our  infantile  darkness,  and  the  greater  which  in 
manhood's  prime  shed  down  the  constant  day,  and  fringe 
with  morning  and  with  evening  beauty  our  manly 
life.  We  thank  thee  for  the  other  harvests,  both  of 
beauty  and  of  use,  which  grow  out  from  the  human 
soul,  for  the  truths  that  we  know,  for  the  justice  that 


171 

we  sec,  for  the  love  that  we  feel  to  our  brother-men, 
and  all  the  manifold  felicities  we  gather  from  the  ac- 
cordance of  congenial  souls  that  make  sweet  music  on 
the  earth.  We  bless  thee  for  our  dear  ones,  folded 
in  our  arms,  sheltered  underneath  our  roof,  fed  with 
the  toil  of  our  hands  or  our  heads,  for  those  who  are 
bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  and  those 
others  not  less  who  are  soul  of  our  soul.  We  thank 
thee  for  those  who  daily  or  weekly  gather  with  us, 
the  benediction  to  our  eyes,  their  voice  the  household 
music  of  our  hearts,  and  for  those  also  who  are  scat- 
tered abroad,  and  are  of  us  still,  though  no  longer  with 
us.  We  thank  thee  for  all  these  joys  which  thou  givest 
to  our  earthly  flesh  and  to  our  heavenly  soul. 

We  bless  thee  for  thyself,  that  we  know  of  thine 
infinite  perfections,  thy  power  unending,  thy  justice 
all-righteous,  thy  wisdom  all-knowing,  and  thy  love 
which  blesses  and  saves  mankind  with  beatitudes  which 
we  did  not  know  or  dared  not  ask,  and  could  not  even 
dream  of  in  our  highest  mood  of  prayer.  We  thank 
thee  that  while  thou  foldest  (he  great  universe  in  thine 
arms  and  carest  for  every  system  of  suns  and  stars, 
iiot  less  thou  feedest  every  little  plant  with  sacramen- 
tal cup  from  each  cloud,  holding  a  blessing  for  the  trees 
and  the  grass.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  also  watchesi 
over  the  spider's  nightly  web  spread  out  upon  the  grass, 
and  carest  for  every  great  and  every  little  thing,  and 
art  father  and  mother  to  all  the  things  that  be.  0 
Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  thou  lovest  us  not  only  for 


172 

what  we  are  to-day,  and  for  the  small  service  we  ren- 
der to  each  other  ;  but  as  no  earthly  father,  as  no 
mortal  mother  loves  her  only  child,  so  thou  lovest  us, 
not  for  the  service  that  our  hands  can  render,  or  our 
grateful  hearts  in  hymns  of  thanksgiving  can  ever  pray, 
but  from  thine  own  sweet  infinitude  of  love  pourest  out 
thine  affection  on  Jew  and  Gentile,  on  Christian  and 
Heathen,  loving  thy  sinner  as  thou  dost  thy  saint. 

We  pray  thee  that,  so  gifted,  and  surrounded  so,  and 
thus  watched  over  by  thy  providence,  we  may  know 
tfcee  as  thou  art,  and  lore  thee  with  all  our  understand- 
ing and  our  heart  and  soul.  May  we  keep  the  law 
which  day  by  day  thou  writest  eternally  on  our  flesh 
and  in  our  soul,  and  serve  thee  with  every  limb  of  our 
body,  with  our  spirit's  every  faculty,  and  whatsoever 
power  we  gain  over  matter  or  over  man.  In  us  may 
there  be  such  love  and  such  trust  in  thee  that  we  shall 
keep  every  law,  do  every  duty,  and  make  ourselves  in 
thy  sight  as  fair  as  the  flowers  on  earth,  or  the  stars 
in  heaven.  May  no  unclean  thing  stain  our  hands,  no 
wicked  feeling  despoil  us  of  beauty  within  our  heart, 
and  may  we  love  our  brothers  as  ourselves,  and  thee 
above  all.  Thus  from  the  baby-bud  whereinto  we 
were  born,  may  we  open  the  great  manly  and  womanly 
glory  of  the  flower  of  earthly  life,  and  bear  fruit  of 
eternal  life  in  thy  kingdom  of  heaven.  So  day  by  day 
may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 


173 


XXXV. 

JULY  11,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  dwellest  in  housea 
made  with  hands,  and  everywhere  not  less  hast 
thy  dwelling-place,  we  flee  unto  thee  to  remem- 
ber before  thee  the  joys  we  delight  in,  the  duties  thou 
givest  us  to  do,  and  the  sorrows  we  needs  must  bear, 
and  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance  we  would  be 
strengthened  for  every  duty,  and  filled  with  gratitude 
for  every  joy  thou  givest.  As  thou  feedest  the  ground 
with  sunlight  from  on  high,  and  waterest  it,  when  it 
askest  not,  from  thy  sacramental  cup,  out  of  the  heav- 
ens, so  we  know  that  thou  wilt  feed  and  water  us  with 
thy  bounty,  and  needest  not  that  we  should  ask  thee ; 
but  in  our  darkness  we  turn  unto  thee  for  light,  and 
in  our  weakness,  from  thine  infinitude  we  would  fill 
our  little  urns  with  strength,  and  make  ourselves  beau- 
tiful in  thy  sight. 

O  Thou  who  art  our  Father  and  our  Mother,  we 
thank  thee  for  the  loving-kindness  and  the  tender  mercy 
which  are  over  all  thy  works.  We  bless  thee  for  the 
harvests  of  bread  which  are  growing  out  of  the  ground 
onder  the  incessant  heat  of  summer,  and  we  thank  thee 


\JL 


174 

for  the  exceeding  beauty  wherewith  thou  givest  thy 
benediction  on  the  daily  bread  not  less  of  cattle  than 
of  men.  We  thank  thee  for  the  transient  flowers  which 
line  the  way-side,  and  clothe  the  hedges  and  adorn  the 
fields  with  heavenly  magnificence,  and  we  thank  thee 
for  all  that  perennial  beauty  which  thou  enthronest  in 
Ihe  stars  on  high.  We  bless  thee  for  the  moon's  ro- 
mantic story,  every  night  told  to  us,  and  the  glorious 
loveliness  of  day  which  the  sun  pours  out  from  the 
golden  urn  of  thy  magnificence.  We  bless  thee  that 
thou  hast  lined  the  borders  of  the  sea  with  green  and 
purple  beauty,  and  scarfed  the  mountains  with  savage 
loveliness,  ar.d  with  the  morning's  and  the  evening's 
twofold  ring  of  beauty  thou  marriest  forever  the  day 
and  night,  revealing  in  this  material  magnificence  tokens 
and  signs  of  thine  own  loving-kindness,  which  passeth 
knowledge,  and  the  sovereign  beauty  of  thy  spirit,  which 
steals  into  our  souls. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  that,  creating  this  world  so 
great  and  adorning  it  so  fair,  thou  hast  yet  made  our 
spirit  vaster  than  the  bounds  of  time  and  space,  and 
givest  us  power  to  adorn  it  with  magnificence  that 
shames  the  green  and  purple  lining  of  the  sea,  and 
to  put  the  stars  of  heaven  out  of  sight  with  its  sweet 
glory  and  the  bravery  of  its  spiritual  loveliness.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  great  nature  thou  hast  given  us  ;  we 
bless  thee  for  its  power  of  ceaseless  progress,  of  continu- 
ally growing  greater  and  nobler,  and  fairer  decked  with 
beauty  springing  from  the  innermost  of  our  soul.  We 


175 

thank  thee  for  every  triumph  which  mankind  has  won, 
for  all  the  great  truths  which  have  come  sounding 
musical  from  past  times,  for  all  the  noble  men  whom  in 
distant  days  thou  raisedst  up  out  of  humanity,  to  tell  us 
of  our  power,  and  in  their  lives  to  reveal  to  us  so  much 
of  thyself. 

We  thank  thee  for  men  and  women  in  our  own  time 
not  less  gifted,  nor  less  faithful,  who  also  speak  as  thou 
inspirest  them,  telling  words  of  truth  and  of  justice  and 
of  love,  and  by  street-side,  and  in  lane,  and  house,  and 
everywhere,  pursuing  the  calm  and  beautiful  gospel  of 
their  lives,  wherein  they  publish  humanity  to  all  man- 
kind. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  that  has  come  to  us  from  past 
times  and  our  own  day.  We  bless  thee  for  the  special 
gifts  thou  givest  to  us  in  our  several  families  and 
homes  and  hearts.  We  thank  thee  for  the  new-born 
life  we  rejoice  in,  and  for  other  lives  that  are  spared, 
long  familiar  to  our  eyes  and  our  heart. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  various  seasons  of  life,  thank- 
ing thee  for  the  little  bud  of  infancy,  and  for  the  great 
handsome  flower  of  manly  and  womanly  life,  fragrant 
with  hope,  and  prophetic  in  its  beauty.  And  not  less 
do  we  thank  thee  for  the  ripened  fruit  of  humanity ; 
yea,  we  bless  thee  for  venerable  age,  crowned  with  sil- 
ver, and  rich  with  the  recollections  and  the  beatitudes 
of  many  deeds  well  done.  We  thank  thee  for  all  the 
joy  thou  givest  in  this  manifold  human  life  to  child  and 
parent,  to  lover  and  beloved,  to  husband  and  wife,  kins- 


176 

folk  and  relative  and  friend,  and  the  gladsome  benedic- 
tion which  thus  thou  settest  on  thy  children's  head.  Yea, 
we  thank  thee  that  when  our  mortal  spring  has  bloomed 
out,  when  our  earthly  summer  is  ended  and  vanished, 
and  the  ripened  fruit  falls  from  our  human  tree,  the 
seed  thereof  thou  takest  to  thyself  to  be  with  thee  for- 
ever and  forever.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  for  that  tran- 
scendent world  where  thou  takest  to  thyself  the  soula 
of  all  thy  children,  having  no  son  of  perdition,  and  bless- 
ing all  with  thine  infinite  fatherly  and  motherly  love. 

Remembering  all  these  things,  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  live  great  and  glorious  lives,  full  of  the  strength 
of  humanity,  and  enriched  with  benedictions  from  thy- 
self. May  we  use  our  bodies  wisely,  counting  them  but 
as  the  earthen  vessels  to  hold  the  spiritual  treasure  thou 
givest  us.  In  the  innermost  of  our  soul  may  we  dwell 
familiar  with  thee,  knowing  all  of  thine  infinite  perfec- 
tions, and  so  loving  thee  that  our  love  shall  cast  out 
every  fear,  and  we  shall  keep  the  law  thou  writest  on 
this  world  of  matter,  and  with  thy  still  small  voice  pro- 
claimest  within  the  innermost  of  our  soul.  Day  by  day 
may  we  grow  to  higher  and  higher  heights,  and,  as  new- 
born blessings  drop  into  our  arms,  as  old  familiar  lives 
are  spared  to  us,  may  we  grow  nobler  and  brighter  by 
the  blessings  thou  givest,  till  within  us  all  shall  be 
blameless,  and  outward  everything  shall  be  beautiful, 
and  we  shall  pass  from  the  glory  of  a  good  beginning 
to  the  greater  glory  of  a  triumphant  end.  So  may  thy 
kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven. 


177 


XXXVI. 

JULY  18,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  One,  who  art  the  perpetual  pres« 
ence  in  matter  and  in  mind,  we  flee  unto  thee,  in 
whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being,  and 
for  a  moment  would  hold  thee  in  our  consciousness,  that 
from  the  morning  worship  of  our  Sabbath  day  we  may 
learn  to  serve  thee  all  the  days  of  our  lives,  strength- 
ened thereby  and  made  blessed. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  great  world  of  matter,  whereof 
thou  buildest  our  bodies  up,  and  whence  thou  feedest 
them  continually  from  day  to  day.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  fervent  heat  of  summer,  wherewith  thou  providest 
the  food  for  cattle  and  for  men,  and  satisfies!  the  wants 
of  every  plant ;  and  we  thank  thee  for  the  rain  which 
in  its  season  thou  sheddest  down  on  meadows  newly 
mown,  to  call  up  new  harvests  where  the  farmer  has 
already  gathered  one.  We  thank  thee  for  the  blessing 
of  heat  and  of  moisture,  thy  two  great  servants  which 
so  mysteriously  create  this  vegetable  world.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  harvests  grown  or  growing  still  out  of  the 
ground,  and  greatening  and  beautifying  on  many  a  tree. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  bread  of  oxen  and  of  men, 
12 


178 

which  human  toil  by  thy  laws  wins  from  out  the  ground, 
which  thou  feedest  from  the  sun  and  the  waters  from 
thine  own  sweet  heavens. 

We  thank  thee  that  while  thus  thou  ministerest  unto 
us  things  that  are  useful,  thou  givest  us  also  the  bene- 
diction of  beauty,  not  only  on  our  own  bread,  but  on  all 
the  food  wherewith  thou  satisfiest  the  wants  of  every 
living  thing.  We  thank  thee  for  the  great  gospel  of 
nature  which  thou  hast  writ,  and  revealest  continually 
in  the  heavens  over  us,  in  the  ground  under  us,  and 
in  the  air  whereby  both  we  and  all  things  continually 
live. 

We  thank  thee  for  that  greater  world  of  spii-it  whereof 
thou  buildest  up  our  several  persons,  for  the  vast  capa- 
bilities which  thou  givest  to  us,  the  power  to  know,  to 
feel,  to  will,  to  worship,  and  to  serve  and  trust.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  power  of  infinite  growth  which  thou 
givest  to  thy  child  mankind,  and  impartest  also  unto 
each  of  us. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  the  blessings  which  have  corne 
to  us  from  the  men  of  times  past.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  great  whom  thou  hast  gifted  with  large  talents  and 
with  genius,  whom  thou  sendest  from  age  to  age  to  be 
the  leaders  and  the  guides  of  thy  children,  marshalling  us 
the  way  that  we  should  go.  We  thank  thee  for  such 
as  have  brought  scientific  truth  to  light,  for  those  who 
have  organized  into  families  and  communities  and  states 
and  nations  thy  multitudinous  children  on  the  eaith. 
We  bless  thee  for  all  who  have  taught  us  truth,  who 


179 

Lave  shown  us  justice,  and  have  revealed  thyself  to  us 
in  all  thine  infinite  beauty,  and  have  taught  us  to  live 
a  blameless  life  of  love.  We  thank  thee  for  thy  proph- 
ets, thy  evangelists,  who  in  every  tongue  have  spoken 
to  mankind,  doing  great  service  to  the  inillions  who  are 
about  them,  waiting  for  such  high  instruction. 

We  thank  thee  for  him  whom  in  days  long  since 
thou  raisedst  up  in  the  midst  of  darkness  to  establish 
lighi,  and  though  mankind  has  worshipped  our  brother 
whom  we  ought  but  to  follow  and  to  imitate,  guided  by 
his  light  and  warned  by  what  was  ill,  yet  we  thank  thee 
for  the  great  truths  he  proclaimed  in  speech,  and  the 
noble  life  that  he  lived  on  earth,  showing  us  the  way 
to  thee,  telling  us  the  truth  from  thee,  and  living  so 
much  of  that  life  that  is  in  thee  and  with  thee  for 
ever  and  ever. 

And  not  less  do  we  thank  thee  for  men  with  talents 
no  smaller  in  our  own  days,  who  likewise  serve  their 
fellows  by  telling  truth  and  proclaiming  justice,  and 
living  the  calm,  sweet  life  which  is  piety  within  and 
philanthropic  love  without.  We  bless  thee  for  those 
whose  gladdening  feet  print  the  earth  with  the  benedic- 
tion of  their  presence,  for  those  whose  toilsome  hands 
do  good  continually  to  mankind,  and  ask  no  return,  for 
those  whose  large  mind  carries  the  lamp  which  is  to  guide 
mankind  from  Egyptian  darkness  to  a  large,  fair  place, 
where  they  shall  dwell  together  in  gladness  and  in 
peace ;  and  for  such  as  reveal  to  our  consciousness  the 
great  truths  of  thine  infinite  goodness,  power,  and  love, 


180 

and  who  incarnate  them  in  life,  —  O  Lord,  we  thank 
thee  for  these,  the  prophets  and  apostles,  the  sages 
and  the  saints  of  our  own  day,  called  by  whatever 
name,  and  wherever  the  lines  of  their  lot  be  cast. 

We  remember  before  thee  thine  own  infinite  perfec- 
tion, and  while  we  thank  thee  for  the  world  of  matter 
and  the  world  of  spirit,  which  are  thy  gifts,  still  more 
do  we  thank  thee  for  thyself  who  art  the  giver,  folding 
in  thy  bosom  other  worlds  of  matter  which  we  know 
not  of,  and  worlds  of  spirit  whereof  we  dimly  learn, 
and  whereunto  with  continual  yearning  our  spirit  would 
ascend.  We  thank  thee  for  thy  providence  which,  mid 
many  a  dark  day  that  seems  to  us  Egyptian  night, 
marks  the  lintels  of  every  door,  and  broods  over  every 
land,  and  with  thy  love  comes  into  every  household, 
great  or  small,  and  never  departs  thence,  but  leaves 
thy  blessing  ever  fresh  and  ever  new. 

We  remember  our  lives  before  thee,  our  several  joys 
that  we  thank  thee  for,  and  yet  know  not  how  to  thank 
thee  as  we  ought.  The  sorrows  thou  givest  us,  — 
we  dare  not  praise  thee  for  them,  but  in  their  darkness 
and  their  cloud,  we  still  thank  thee  that  thy  light  comes 
through  the  darkness,  and  thy  hand  is  underneath  the 
cloud,  leading  us  forward  through  them  to  better  and 
more  glorious  things. 

We  remember  our  daily  duties,  how  hard  they  often 
are,  and  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  use  the  noble  facul- 
ties thou  hast  given  us  so  as  to  bear  every  cross  which 
must  needs  be  borne,  and  grow  greater  by  suffering 


181 

what  we  needs  must  endure,  and  doing  what  thou  com- 
mandest  as  our  duty,  and  so  being  what  thou  wouldst 
have  us  be.  Father  we  pray  thee  that  in  us  there 
may  be  such  knowledge  of  thee,  such  love  towards  thee, 
and  such  trust  in  thee,  and  such  a  noble  pious  life  in 
ourselves,  that  we  shall  bring  every  limb  of  our  body 
and  our  spirits  every  faculty  into  thy  service,  and  so 
outwardly,  not  less  than  inwardly,  live  lives  that  are  as 
fair  as  the  lilies  of  the  stream  or  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  so  be  blameless  and  beautiful  and  acceptable  in  thy 
sight.  Thus  may  thy  kingdom  come  and  thy  will  be 
dot*  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


182 


XXXVII. 

JULY  25,  1858. 

OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and 
everywhere,  we  flee  unto  thee,  and  for  a  moment 
would  be  conscious  of  thy  presence,  and  in  the 
light  of  thy  countenance  would  we  remember  our  joys 
and  our  sorrows,  our  duties,  our  transgressions,  and  our 
hopes,  and  lift  up  to  thee  the  glad  psalm  of  gratitude 
for  all  that  we  rejoice  in,  and  aspire  towards  the  meas- 
ure of  a  perfect  man,  and  so  worship  thee  that  we  shall 
serve  thee  all  the  days  of  our  lives  with  a  gladsome  and 
accepted  service.  So  may  the  prayer  of  our  hearts  be 
acceptable  unto  thee,  and  come  out  in  our  daily  life  as 
fair  as  the  lilies  and  lasting  as  the  stars. 

0  Father  who  art  everywhere,  and  givest  to  thy 
creatures  liberally  and  upbraidest  not,  we  thank  thee 
for  the  world  of  matter  over  our  head  and  under  our 
feet  and  about  us  on  every  side.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
serene  and  stormy  days  wherewith  thou  equally  givest 
thy  sacrament  of  benediction  to  all  things  that  are.  We 
bless  thee  for  all  which  the  summer  has  thus  far  brought 
forth,  for  the  great  harvests  of  use  which  have  grown 
alike  for  the  cattle  that  serve  and  for  imperial  man  who 


183 

commands  the  things  that  are  about  him  and  above  him 
and  underneath  his  feet,  and  for  the  beauty  wherewi'h 
thou  broiderest  every  field-side  and  road-side,  and  cloth- 
est  the  bosom  of  the  stream,  which  blossoms  with  fra- 
grant loveliness.  We  thank  thee  for  the  great  psalm 
of  creation,  where  day  by  day,  when  there  is  no  voice 
nor  language,  star  speaketh  unto  flower,  and  flower 
•peaketh  unto  star,  and  the  ocean  proclaims  to  the  sky 
the  power,  the  order,  the  mind,  the  loving-kindness,  and 
the  tender  mercy  of  thy  spirit,  dwelling  in  every  great 
and  every  little  thing. 

We  thank  thee  for  this  human  world  whereof  our- 
selves are  a  part,  for  the  vast  faculties  which  thou  hast 
given  us.  For  the  fair  bodies,  the  crown  of  creation,  so 
curiously  and  wonderfully  made,  with  senses  which  take 
hold  of  each  material  thing  and  feed  thereon,  convert- 
ing its  use  and  its  beauty  to  means  of  human  growth,  we 
thank  thee,  and  for  this  great  power  of  mind  which  thou 
givest  us,  feeding  alike  on  truth  and  beauty,  gaining  the. 
victory  over  material  things,  making  the  ground,  the 
winds  and  the  waters,  the  stars  and  the  very  fire  of 
heaven,  to  serve  our  various  needs.  We  thank  thee 
for  this  great  moral  power,  whereby  our  conscience 
comes  into  accord  with  thine,  and  we  know  thy  justice 
and  make  it  our  human  rule  of  conduct,  making  our- 
selves useful  to  each  other  and  acceptable  to  thee. 

We  thank  thee  for  these  generous  affections  which, 
unselfish,  reach  out  their  arms  to  father  and  mother,  to 
kinsfolk  and  friend,  to  lover  and  beloved,  husband  and 


184 

wife,  parent  and  child,  and  all  the  great  relationships 
wherewith  the  world  is  full.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
greatening  power  of  charity,  which  transcends  the 
bounds  of  family  and  kindred  blood,  of  acquaintance 
and  congenial  soul,  and  goes  forever  loving  on,  care- 
ful for  those  who  are  cast  down,  and  seeking  to  bless 
with  light  those  who  are  sitting  benighted  in  the  corners 
of  the  earth,  to  strike  the  fetters  from  the  slave,  to  give 
knowledge  to  the  ignorant,  and  to  teach  virtue  and  piety 
to  men  that  are  bowed  together  in  their  sins,  in  nowise 
able  to  lift  themselves  up. 

Father  we  thank  thee  that  we  know  thee ;  we  bless 
thee  for  this  great  religious  faculty,  whereby  we  turn 
this  world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  soul  into  one 
great  accordant  psalm,  and  even  the  voices  of  the  beasts 
that  perish  come  to  our  ears  full  of  religious  melody, 
reminding  us  of  thy  providence,  which  is  kind  and  large 
not  only  to  angels  and  to  men,  but  to  the  meanest  thing 
which  serves  thy  purpose  in  the  world. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  that  transcendent  world, 
embracing  the  earth  of  matter  and  the  humanity  of 
men,  that  world  of  spirits  which  thou  thyself  inhabitest, 
and  whereunto  thou  drawest  thy  children  from  year  to 
year,  as  thine  angel  strikes  off  the  fetters  of  our  flesh, 
and  clothes  us  with  immortality.  Father,  we  thank 
thee  for  our  dear  ones  who  have  gone  before  us,  where 
the  mortal  eye  sees  them  not,  but  where  the  human 
heart  knows  it  is  well  with  the  child,  and  that  thou 
stillest  the  agonies  of  father,  husband,  wife  or  lover, 


185 

with  thy  sweet  beneficence,  and  art  kind  and  merciful 
alike  to  thy  saint  and  thy  sinner.  We  thank  thee  for 
that  other  world  which  draws  our  eyes  through  our 
tears  and  onr  darkness  and  fills  us  with  hope.  We 
bless  thee  for  thine  own  infinite  perfection,  that  we  can 
rest  under  the  shadow  of  thine  almighty  power,  thine 
all-knowing  wisdom,  thine  all-righteous  justice,  and 
thine  all-embracing  love,  which  never  end.  O  Lord, 
our  Father  and  'our  Mother  too,  we  know  that  we  need 
not  ask  any  good  thing  from  thee,  nor  in  our  prayer 
beseech  thee  to  remember  us,  for  thou  lovest  us  more 
than  we  can  love  ourselves,  and  art  more  desirous  of 
our  infinite  welfare  than  we  for  our  prosperity  a  single 
day. 

We  pray  thee  therefore  that  ourselves  may  be  faithful 
to  all  the  gifts  which  thou  hast  given  us.  Remember- 
ing thine  infinite  love  and  thy  tender  providence,  may 
we  put  away  all  fear  from  us,  and  shaking  off  every 
particle  of  superstitious  dust,  may  we  open  our  souls  to 
that  glorious  love  which  shall  not  be  ashamed,  but  con- 
strains us  to  keep  every  law  which  thou  haft  writ  for 
us.  So  knowing  thee  and  trusting  thee,  may  we  never 
think  meanly  of  the  nature  thou  hast  given  to  us,  but 
use  these  bodies  as  the  vessels  which  hold  the  precious 
treasure  thou  hast  poured  therein,  and  with  our  mind 
and  our  conscience  and  our  heart  and  our  soul  may  we 
serve  thee  daily  by  that  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth 
which  alone  achieves  the  great  end  of  human  destina- 
tion. So  using  ourselves,  may  we  wisely  use  the  world 


186 

of  matter  that  is  about  us,  and  by  our  daily  toil  not  only 
house  and  clothe  and  feed  and  medicine  our  flesh,  but 
by  the  process  thereof  instruct  our  intellect  and  enlarge 
our  conscience,  fertilize  our  affections,  and  magnify  this 
religious  power  that  is  in  us.  So  day  by  day  may  we 
serve  thee  with  perfect  service,  and  when  thou  hast 
finished  thy  work  with  us,  then,  triumphant,  may  we 
journey  home  to  be  with  thee,  to  know  thee  as  our- 
selves are  known,  and  pass  from  glory  to  glory  forever 
and  ever,  entering  into  those  joys  which  the  eye  has 
not  seen,  nor  the  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man  com- 
pletely known.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy 
will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


187 


XXXVIII. 

SEPTEMBER  19,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Presence,  who  art  everywhere, 
we  flee  unto  thee  for  a  moment,  who  art  always 
near  unto  us.  We  would  be  conscious  of  thy 
power,  thy  wisdom,  thy  justice,  and  thy  love,  and  while 
we  feel  thee  most  intimate  at  our  hearts,  we  would 
remember  before  thee  our  joys  and  our  sorrows,  our 
hopes  and  our  fears,  whatever  of  virtue  we  have  at- 
tained to,  and  the  transgressions  also  wherewith  we 
defile  our  soul.  May  the  words  of  our  mouths  and 
the  meditations  of  our  hearts  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight, 
O  Lord,  our  Strength  and  our  Redeemer. 

O  Thou  Infinite  Giver  of  all  things,  we  thank  thee 
for  this  great,  rich  world,  where  thou  castest  the  lines  of 
our  lot.  We  thank  thee  for  the  exceeding  beauty  which 
thou  hast  scattered  throughout  the  heavens  and  every- 
where on  this  broad  earth  of  thine.  We  thank  thee 
that  thou  mouldest  every  leaf  into  a  form  of  beauty, 
and  globest  every  ripening  berry  into  symmetric  love- 
liness, that  thou  scatterest  along  the  road-sides  of  the 
world  and  on  the  fringes  of  the  farmer's  field  such 
wealth  and  luxuriance  of  beauty  to  charm  our  eyes 


188 

from  things  too  sensual,  and  slowly  lift  us  up  to  what 
is  spiritual  in  its  loveliness  and  cannot  pass  away. 
We  thank  thee  for  the  glory  which  walks  abroad  at 
night,  for  the  moon  with  interchange  of  waxing  and 
waning  beauty,  shedding  her  silver  radiance  across 
the  darkness,  for  every  fixed  and  every  wandering  star 
whose  bearded  presence  startles  us  with  strange  and 
fairest  light,  and  for  the  imperial  sun  that  from  his  am- 
brosial urn  pours  down  the  day  on  field  and  town,  on 
rich  and  poor,  baptizing  all  thy  world  with  joy.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  ground  underneath  our  feet,  whence 
the  various  particles  of  our  bodies  are  day  by  day  so 
curiously  taken  and  wonderfully  framed  together.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  Spring,  which  brought  her  hand- 
some promise,  for  the  gorgeous  preparation  which  the 
Summer  made  in  his  manly  strength,  and  we  bless 
thee  for  the  months  of  Autumn,  whose  sober  beauty 
now  is  cast  on  every  hill  and  every  tree.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  harvests  which  the  toil  and  the  thought  of 
man  have  gathered  already  from  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  or  digged  from  its  bosom.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  other  harvests  still  growing  beneath  the  earth,  or 
hanging  abundant  beauties  in  the  autumnal  sun  from 
many  a  tree,  all  over  our  blessed  Northern  land. 

We  thank  thee  likewise  for  this  great  human  world 
which  ourselves  make  up.  We  bless  thee  for  the  glo- 
rious nature  which  thou  hast  given  us,  for  these  bodies 
BO  curiously  and  so  wonderfully  made,  and  for  this 
overmastering  spirit  which  enchants  into  life  this  hand- 


189 

ful  of  fascinated  clay.  We  bless  thee  for  the  large  fac- 
ulties which  thou  hast  given  us,  and  the  unbounded 
means  for  development  afforded  in  our  daily  toil.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  glorious  destination  which  thou  hast 
set  before  us,  appointing  us  our  duties  to  do,  and  giv- 
ing us  that  grand  and  lasting  welfare  which  thou  wilt 
never  fail  to  bestow  on  all  and  each  who  ask  it  with 
their  prayer  and  toil. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  work  which  our  hands 
find  to  do  on  earth.  We  bless  thee  that  the  process 
of  our  toil  is  education  for  our  body  and  our  mind,  for 
our  conscience  and  our  heart  and  soul.  We  thank  thee 
for  the  reward  which  comes  as  the  result  of  our  work  ; 
yea,  we  bless  thee  for  the  houses  that  we  live  in,  for 
the  garments  that  we  wear,  woven  up  of  thoughtful 
human  toil,  for  the  bread  that  we  eat,  and  the  beauty 
that  we  gather  from  the  ground,  or  create  from  the 
manifold  material  things  which  thou  givest  us. 

We  thank  thee  for  those  who  are  near  and  dear  to 
us,  the  benediction  on  our  daily  bread,  the  presence  of 
blessing  in  our  house,  and  the  chief  ornament  of  our 
human  life.  We  thank  thee  for  new-born  blessings 
which  thou  sendest  into  the  arms  of  father  and  of 
mother,  to  gladden  them  not  only,  but  likewise  rela- 
tive and  friend,  and  to  people  the  earth  with  new  gen- 
erations of  progressive  men. 

Father,  we  remember  before  thee  likewise  that  other 
world  which  transcends  the  earth  of  matter  and  the 
world  of  human  things ;  we  thank  thee  for  that  world 


190 

which  the  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  the  ear  heard,  nor 
the  heart  of  man  fully  conceived.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  who  have  gone 
before  us  into  that  kingdom  of  heaven,  to  shine  like 
the  morning  stars  of  earth,  free  from  all  the  noises 
which  harass  the  world.  Father,  we  remember  be- 
fore thee  those  dear  to  our  hearts  still,  though  severed 
from  our  side,  and  if  we  dare  not  thank  thee  when 
father  or  mother,  when  husband  or  wife,  when  son  or 
daughter,  when  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance  have  their 
countenance  changed,  and  they  themselves  are  born 
anew  into  thy  kingdom,  we  still  thank  thee  that  we 
are  sure  they  are  with  thee,  that  no  evil  befalls  the 
little  one,  or  the  mature  one,  or  the  aged,  but  the  arms 
of  thy  love  are  about  them,  and  thou  leadest  them  ever 
forward  and  ever  upward. 

O  Thou  who  art  Infinite  Perfection,  we  thank  thee 
for  thyself;  and  we  know  that  out  of  thy  power,  thy 
wisdom,  thy  justice,  and  thy  love,  have  flowed  forth 
this  world  of  matter,  and  this  world  of  man,  and  that 
kingdom  of  heaven  whereinto  we  all  hope  to  enter  at 
the  last.  We  thank  thee  for  thy  loving-kindness  and 
thy  tender  mercy,  which  are  over  all  thy  works,  and 
where  we  cannot  see,  save  through  a  glass  darkly,  we 
will  still  trust  thee,  with  infinite  longing  and  with  ab- 
solute confidence,  and  that  love  which  casteth  out  every 
fear. 

Father  in  heaven,  so  gifted  as  we  are,  surrounded 
BO,  and  so  destined  for  immortal  welfare,  we  pray  thee 


191 

that  we  may  live  great  and  noble  lives  on  the  earth, 
unfolding  our  nature  day  by  day,  using  our  bodies  for 
their  purpose,  and  the  soul  for  its  higher  use,  growing 
wiser  and  better  as  we  change  time  into  life,  and  daily 
work  into  exalted  character.  So  may  we  live  that 
every  day  we  learn  some  new  truth,  practise  some 
new  virtue,  and  become  dearer  and  more  beautiful  iu 
thine  own  sight.  So  may  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thj 
will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 


192 


XXXIX. 

DECEMBER  5,  1858. 

OTHOU  Infinite  Spirit,  who  art  always  present, 
we  know  that  we  need  not  ask  thee  to  remember 
us,  and  though  in  the  weakness  of  our  psalm  we 
thus  entreat  thee,  yet  in  the  strength  of  our  heart's 
prayer  we  know  that  thou  needest  no  entreating,  but 
rememberest  us  forever  and  forever.  0  Thou  who  art 
our  Father,  we  thank  thee  that  all  day  long  thou  hast 
us  in  thy  perfect  care,  and  when  the  night  comes,  and 
we  lay  us  down,  that  thou  still  watchest  over  us,  and 
givest  to  thy  beloved  even  in  our  sleep.  Father,  we 
will  not  ask  thee  to  draw  nigh  unto  us,  for  thou  livest 
and  movest  and  hast  thy  being  in  all  things  that  are, 
and  most  eminent  in  our  own  soul.  But  we  will  seek 
to  draw  near  unto  thee,  that,  warmed  by  thy  fire  and 
strengthened  by  thy  light,  from  the  moment  of  our 
worship,  we  may  serve  thee  better  all  the  days  of  our 
mortal  life. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  thyself.  We  bless  thee 
that  thou  createdst  us  and  all  things  from  thy  perfect 
love,  and  preappointed  us  all  to  infinite  and  eternal 
welfare,  and  in  the  world  about  us  and  the  world  within 
didst  wonderfully  provide  the  means  thereto,  so  that  our 


193 

follies  even  shall  help  us,  and  the  wrath  of  man  shall 
serve  thy  great  purpose,  and  the  remainder  of  wrath 
thou  wilt  restrain.  0  Lord,  who  art  our  Father  and 
our  Mother  too,  we  thank  thee  that  thy  love  never 
fails,  that  though  our  mortal  friends  perish  from  out 
our  sight,  though  father  and  mother  may  forget  us,  and 
we  be  faithless  to  our  own  selves,  yet  thou  never  leav- 
est,  nor  forsakest,  nor  art  unfaithful,  but  lovest  us  far 
more  than  we  are  able  to  ask,  or  even  to  think  or  to 
wish  in  the  extreme  of  our  heart. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  world  thou  hast  given  us  all 
around.  We  thank  thee  for  the  Summer's  beauty  that 
has  passed,  leaving  behind  her  the  autumnal  grain,  and 
the  rich  and  bountiful  fruits  of  harvest.  And  now  that 
the  Winter  is  upon  us,  we  bless  thee  for  this  angel 
whom  thou  hast  sent  down  to  clothe  the  earth  in  white 
raiment,  and  adorn  it  with  loveliness,  this  garment  of 
snow  which  thou  so  sweetly  administerest  out  of  thy 
heavens  to  all  these  Northern  lands,  which  hang  on  thy 
bounty  and  are  fed  from  thy  never-ending  love. 

We  thank  thee  for  all  the  blessings  which  we  have 
inherited  from  ages  gone  before  us.  We  bless  thee  for 
so  much  of  civilization  as  has  fallen  to  our  lot,  for  the 
noble  institutions  which  our  fathers  builded  up  with 
their  prayer  and  their  toil,  with  their  sword  and  their 
blood.  We  thank  thee  for  every  wise  thing  in  our 
government  which  has  come  down  to  us,  for  all  the 
excellence  which  is  in  our  social  organizations,  for  the 
friendly  affection  which  adorns  our  household  and  our 
13 


194 

home.  We  thank  thee  for  those  schools  of  the  people 
•where  thou  instructest  thy  children  from  day  to  day ; 
we  bless  thee  for  the  sweet  influences  which  proceed 
thence  and  enrich  mankind,  while  they  instruct  and  lift 
us  up.  We  thank  thee  for  all  the  good  there  is  in  the 
churches  called  after  thy  name ;  we  bless  thee  for  all 
the  various  denominations  on  the  earth,  thanking  thee 
that  their  several  faith  —  whether  Heathen,  or  Greek, 
or  Jew,  or  Christian —  is  to  them  of  such  infinite  worth. 
We  bless  thee  for  all  of  truth  which  we  may  have  gathered 
from  the  various  religions  of  the  world,  and  most  of  all 
for  what  we  have  learned  of  thyself,  in  the  calm  and 
still  communing  of  our  own  heart  with  thee.  We 
thank  thee  that  thou  inspirest  all  of  thy  children,  who, 
with  open  mind  and  obedient  heart,  flee  unto  thee,  seek- 
ing for  truth,  for  justice,  for  love,  and  the  sweet  piety 
which  so  adorns  and  beautifies  the  inner  man. 

We  bless  thee  for  the  dear  ones  whom  affection  joins 
to  our  heart,  bone  of  our  bone,  flesh  of  our  flesh,  or 
joined  by  a  still  nearer  and  more  delicious  kindred  of 
the  soul.  O  Lord,  we  remember  the  friendships  which 
time  and  distance  cannot  sever,  we  remember  the  love 
of  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance,  whom  death  only  hides 
from  our  eye,  but  does  not  take  from  our  heart.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  just  ones  made  perfect  who  have 
gone  from  us,  and  those  who  in  their  imperfection  have 
been  translated,  for  we  know  that  thou  placest  them  in 
the  line  of  advancement,  and  leadest  them  ever  up- 
wards, and  still  further  on. 


195 

We  remember  the  great  duties  which  are  before  us, 
incumbent  on  such  natures  and  so  large  an  inheritance 
and  such  ample  opportunity  for  toil.  We  remember 
before  thee  with  shame  and  confusedness  of  heart  our 
own  weakness,  our  folly  and  our  pride,  and  the  mani- 
fold transgressions  wherewith  we  sin  against  our  body  or 
our  soul,  against  thy  goodness,  0  thou  Infinite  Mother, 
who  boldest  us  in  thy  hand,  and  warmest  us  with  the 
breath  of  thy  love.  And  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  put 
away  every  folly,  and  be  greatly  chastised  for  every 
wrong,  till,  penitent  therefor,  we  turn  from  it,  and, 
though  with  bleeding  feet,  tread  the  paths  of  righteous- 
ness, leading  us  to  peace  and  gladness  and  joy  of  soul. 

Father,  we  will  not  pray  thee  for  this  world's  goods ; 
we  know  not  of  these  things  how  to  pray  thee  as  we 
ought ;  therefore  we  dare  not  ask  thee  for  riches  or  for 
poverty,  for  length  of  life,  nor  for  shortness  of  days. 
But  we  pray  thee  that  we  may  so  toil  in  our  various 
lot  that  we  grow  wiser  and  better,  that  we  have  a  sure 
and  abiding  sense  of  thy  goodness,  thy  power,  and  thy 
love,  and  of  the  great  and  noble  nature  thou  hast  given 
us,  and  the  glorious  destination  thou  hast  prepared. 
Then  may  our  hands  work  out  our  own  salvation,  with 
joy  and  with  gladness  then  may  we  toil  for  our  brother 
men  ;  and  our  poor  and  humble  lives, —  may  they  en- 
rich and  magnify  the  age  we  live  in.  Thus  day  by  day 
may  we  serve  thee,  and  so  may  thy  kingdom  come  and 
thy  w  ill  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven  ! 


196 


XL. 

JANUARY  2,  1859. 

OTHOU  who  art  everywhere,  whom  no  eye  can 
see,  but  every  heart  can  feel,  we  flee  unto  thee, 
and  for  a  moment  would  hold  thee  in  our  con- 
sciousness, who  art  not  far  from  any  one  of  us,  but 
always  hast  us  in  thy  care  and  keeping,  watching 
over  and  doing  us  good.  We  would  remember  before 
thee  our  joys  and  our  sorrows,  our  hopes  and  our  fears, 
our  good  deeds  and  our  transgressions,  and  while  we 
meditate  thereon,  may  we  be  penitent  for  every  wrong 
deed,  and  greatly  ashamed  of  all  wickedness,  but  filled 
with  noble  aspirations,  which  shall  bear  us  up  to  higher 
and  higher  heights  of  human  excellence.  O  Thou  who 
art  ever  near  us,  may  thy  spirit  pray  with  us  in  our 
prayer,  teaching  us  the  things  we  ought  to  pray  for, 
and  strengthening  us  mightily  in  the  inner  man. 

O  Thou  Infinite  Spirit,  we  thank  thee  for  all  thy 
loving-kindness  and  thy  tender  mercy,  which  gave  us 
our  being  first,  and  lengthenest  out  our  lives  from  day 
to  day,  and  from  year  to  year,  while  thou  presentest 
before  us  the  immortal  life,  which  eye  has  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  nor  our  frail  hearts  completely  under- 
stood. 


197 

We  thank  thee  for  this  fair  t-unlight  which  gladdens 
and  cheers  the  faces  of  men,  while  it  fills  up  with  hand- 
someness the  wintry  hour.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
stars,  which  all  night  long  keep  shining  watch  above 
a  sleeping  world;  and  we  bless  thee  for  thy  provi- 
dence, which  cares  for  us  when  we  slumber,  and  when 
we  wake.  Yea,  we  thank  thee  that  underneath  thy 
care  we  can  lay  us  down  and  sleep  in  safety,  and 
when  we  wake  we  are  still  with  thee. 

While  we  stand  at  the  entrance  of  a  new  year,  re- 
membering thy  presence  with  us,  we  cast  our  eyes 
backward,  and  we  thank  thee  for  all  the  joy  and  the 
gladness  which  came  to  our  lot  in  the  months  that  are 
past.  We  thank  thee  for  the  health  and  energy  that 
have  been  in  our  earthly  frame.  We  bless  thee  for 
the  work  our  hands  found  to  do,  for  the  joy  which  comes 
from  the  harvested  result  of  our  toil  and  thought,  and 
that  greater  but  unasked  joy  and  blessedness  which 
comes  from  the  education  which  the  process  of  our 
daily  toil  in  thy  marvellous  providence  doth  bring 
about. 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  new  ties  of  mortal 
love  which  we  have  formed  on  earth,  whereby  eyes 
behold  light  in  mutual  eyes,  and  hearts  that  once  were 
twain  become  one.  We  thank  thee  for  the  new-born 
blessings,  these  little  messiahs  which  thy  loving-kind- 
ness has  left  in  many  an  earnest  home.  We  bless 
thee  for  all  the  joys  which  spring  from  the  various 
affections  of  life,  which  set  the  solitary  in  families,  and 


198 

of  twain  make  one,  and  thence  bring  manifold  life  tc 
increase  and  multiply  and  gladden  the  world. 

Father,  we  remember  before  thee  the  sorrows  and 
disappointments  with  which  we  have  sometimes  been 
tried.  We  remember  the  dear  ones  whom  thou  hast 
taken  from  our  mortal  arms,  whose  countenance  thou 
hast  changed,  and  whom  thou  hast  sent  away ;  and 
though  we  have  not  always  been  strong  enough  to 
understand  thy  providence,  or  to  welcome  the  hand 
which  took,  as  that  which  gave,  yet  we  thank  thee 
that  through  the  darkness  that  surrounded  us  we  can 
see  a  great  and  marvellous  light,  whereunto  we  are 
marching  step  by  step,  whither  our  dear  ones  are  gone 
before,  not  lost,  but  found  in  thee.  0  Father  on  earth, 
Father  in  heaven,  Father  and  Mother  too,  we  thank 
thee  for  that  other  world  whither  so  many  of  our 
friends  are  gone,  and  whither  our  own  faces  are  also 
set.  We  thank  thee  that  we  are  conscious  of  our 
immortality,  and  sure  that  when  we  drop  the  body 
we  are  clothed  upon  with  immortal  life,  and  pass 
from  glory  to  glory,  in  a  progress  which  can  never 
end. 

We  remember  before  thee  the  sins  and  transgres- 
sions which  we  have  often  committed ;  we  remember 
the  wrong  deeds  that  we  have  done,  the  unholy  feel- 
ings that  we  have  cherished,  and  the  wicked  thoughts 
which  have  sometimes  come  into  our  minds,  and  been 
bidden  to  rest  and  tarry  there.  0  Lord,  full  of  pain 
and  sadness  for  every  wrong  deed  we  have  done,  for 


199 

the  unholy  words  we  have  spoke,  and  the  wicked  feel 
ings  we  have  nourished  in  us,  we  pray  thee  that  we 
may  not  be  cast  down  by  our  penitence,  but  ashamed 
of  our  transgression,  and  warned  by  our  fall,  walk 
more  needfully  in  times  that  are  to  come,  and  journey 
from  strength  to  strength,  our  hands  uplifted,  and  our 
hearts  sustained  by  thee. 

O  Thou  who  knowest  what  all  time  shall  bring 
forth,  we  cast  our  eyes  forward,  and  though  every  day 
is  hidden  in  darkness  before  our  eyes,  wo  pray  thee 
that  there  may  be  such  light  within  our  heart,  that  it 
shall  make  it  all  glorious  light  about  us,  from  hour  to 
hour,  and  in  the  strength  that  thou  givest  us  may  we 
do  the  appointed  duty  of  each  day,  and  reverently 
bear  its  cross,  and  so  fill  up  all  our  time  with  thy  ser- 
vice. Within  us  may  the  true  religion  find  its  temple 
and  its  home  ;  may  thy  great  truths  dwell  in  us,  and 
the  noble  feelings  of  love  to  each  other,  and  unchang- 
ing and  perfect  love  to  tnee ;  here  may  they  live  and 
do  their  perfect  work ;  may  they  bring  down  every 
high  thought  which  exalts  itself  unduly,  may  they 
tame  every  unworthy  passion,  and  change  our  ambi- 
tion from  evil  into  good,  so  that  all  our  days  shall  be 
thy  days,  our  prayer  thy  worship,  and  our  life  thy 
continual  service,  and  all  our  earthly  days  be  made 
gladsome  and  glorious  in  thy  sight.  Then,  when  thou 
hast  finished  thy  work  with  us  on  earth,  may  we  lift 
up  our  eyes  towards  thee  with  gladness  and  great  joy, 
and  go  home  to  that  world  where  all  tears  are  wiped 


200 

from  every  eye,  and  where  sorrow  and  sighing  shall 
come  no  more,  but  we  shall  shine  in  the  light  of  thy 
love,  and  pass  from  glory  to  glory. 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  thy 
name.  May  thy  kingdom  come,  and  thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  Give  us  each  day 
our  daily  bread.  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  for- 
give those  who  trespass  against  us.  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation  but  deliver  us  from  its  evil.  For  thine  is 
the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory  forever. 
Amen. 


TH.E 


/ 


